Always my sister, always my friend
by Michalice W
Summary: There's a new woman in Castle's life...how will she affect Kate? Set after season finale - post summer. Mostly Kate's POV
1. Chapter 1

Kate Beckett sat at her desk, doggedly putting pen to paper in an effort to diminish the pile of paperwork on her desk. While the red tape associated with police work annoyed the detective, she actually sort of like the quiet day at the end of every case. It was a good thing to have half a day to reflect on the case, put it to rest, and exorcise its demons. The day was usually Castle-free as well, which was also a good thing...yes, a good thing. She had a day free of his teasing and levity – no, _immaturity_. A day that reminded her of how the precinct used to be before the writer came to shadow her.

Setting her pen down, Beckett slumped back in her chair and avoided identifying the restlessness in her. If she looked to close, she would recognize that the bullpen was too silent and maybe she would have to admit that she was a little bored too. Shaking herself to clear her thoughts, Kate looked up and noticed a uniform exiting the elevator with a woman in tow. The officer said something to the woman, which made her stop following him, then made his way straight to Kate's desk.

"Detective Beckett? This woman came in asking to speak with you?"

"Is everything all right?"

"She doesn't look hurt or anything – she wouldn't say what she needed."

Kate leaned past the officer and took another look at the woman. She did look okay, neatly dressed and put together, not like some of the people who came seeking the detective's help. But ever since Kate became media fodder over Heat Wave – and especially since the press started for the movie – the detective felt a little leery over letting just anybody meet her at the station.

Finally, she sighed. "I'll talk to her," she told the officer. The uniform motioned for the woman to come over and he introduced Beckett.

"Ma'am, this is Detective Kate Beckett."

"Thank you," the woman said warmly. Once the officer left, she stuck her hand out, and Kate shook it firmly. "Thank you for meeting with me detective, I realize this is a bit unconventional."

"It's no problem."

"My name is Aris Miron-Whitworth and – "

Kate's mouth fell open. "Wait," she interrupted. "Miron? Like Miron Productions? The company that did the special effects and stunts for _Heat Wave_?"

The woman grimaced. "Yeah, Gio Miron is my father."

"Oh, well, it's nice to meet you." Kate recovered her wits fairly quickly and resolved not to embarrass the woman further. She motioned for Aris to sit in Castle's chair and she took her own seat. "How can I help you?"

Aris took a deep breath. "Okay, here's the thing...actually, I'm not sure how to say this...hmmm," she tapered off, obviously conflicted with something. "You see, I'm Richard Castle's half-sister."

Despite her earlier resolve, Kate's mouth fell open again. "Whaa...? Are you serious?" Aris nodded. "So, Gio Miron is Castle's father?"

"Actually, w_as_. I'm still not used to saying that. Gio Miron _was_ Richard's father. He passed away almost two months ago."

That news calmed Kate's spinning brain and turned off the detective voice in her head telling her to look for an angle this woman might play. "Oh, I'm very sorry to hear that."

Aris shrugged. "Thank you," she said off-handedly.

A light turned on in Kate's mind. "Is that why you need my help? Do you suspect foul-play in your father's death?"

"Heaven's no!" Aris cried. "No, no, my father died the old-fashioned way: too much booze, too many cigars, and some questionable std's that finally wore down his heart." She said it in a tone devoid of judgment or emotions, making Kate wonder what kind of relationship she had with her father. The detective was no stranger to strained father-daughter relationships and she recognized the distance in the woman's voice.

"Actually detective, I am here on behalf of my father's dying request. The last few days of his life, he started talking to me. He told me things he'd never said before, and among them he expressed his greatest regret, his biggest secret. He told me that day that he had another child – a son that he'd never had anything to do with. He wasn't even sure the man – Richard Castle - knew he was his father. He knew when Martha Castle was first pregnant that he was the father. But he didn't do anything about it. He said he was just starting his business and things were really taking off. He lived a certain "Bond-like" lifestyle that wouldn't have gone over very well if everyone knew he had a wife and kids. So he walked away. As the years went on, and he matured, I suppose he was embarrassed by his inaction; but he kept the guilt away by ignoring it. And then, before he knew it, he was dying and it was too late to right his life-long wrong. So, the task falls to me."

Skepticism emerged though the torrent of other thoughts and emotions. "You honestly didn't know your father had another child?"

Aris laughed mirthlessly. "Detective, it wouldn't surprise me if my father had a dozen other children. I am fully prepared to meet "surprise" half siblings for the rest of my life. But, no, I didn't know about Richard, or Martha for that matter, until a few months ago. It's funny, I knew about _Heat Wave_, and that my father's company had done some work on it, but I didn't know why he had such a passion for it. At the time, I hadn't read any of Castle's books, so I was a little confused by the fact that he'd taken on a movie with so much romance. Normally Miron Productions works on epic adventure or sci-fi/fantasy movies."

"So, how do I know you're telling me the truth?" Beckett asked, letting the cynicism show, but feeling in her gut the woman was genuine.

"I've thought about that," Aris admitted. "I've had 2 long months to think about how to prove that I'm not going to extort anything, or hurt anybody."

"And?"

"And I have no clue how to go about it. So, I've brought you all the documents of my life: copies of my driver's license, birth certificate, financial statements, character and reference letters and Gio Miron's last will and testament." Aris pulled a thick folder out of her bag and plopped it on Kate's desk. "I figure, if you okay me, then Richard will too."

"This will do," Beckett said decidedly. She called over Esposito to run down confirmations on some of the information and she made a couple phone calls herself, all the while chatting lightly with Aris. Turning over a page, Kate saw Gio Miron's will. She read through the section of the will about the beneficiaries. The bulk of Miron's estate went to art and film charities, and a small portion went to Aris, with instructions that she aid in the disposing of the rest of his estate. Castle was not even mentioned.

"So, even in death he didn't acknowledge his son," Beckett observed.

Aris just shook her head. "He was ashamed, like I said, and just before he died he asked me to make it right for him, so here I am."

"That's not fair."

The woman didn't answer for a moment; she was very deep in thought. "You're right, detective, it's not fair. And I can honestly say I'm not sure it's the right thing to do – seek out Mr. Castle like this. I'm not sure it's what's best for everybody. I only know that, now that Gio's dead, I have none of my own family except a half brother" Aris stopped for a moment, tears welling into her eyes and her voice became strained with emotion. "And he may not want anything to do with me, or with our father, but I would like to at least try. Try to stay connected to my blood. I know that Richard is wealthy, but I don't need that. My father left me plenty and my husband does very well for us. I would just like to be able to look out at the moon at night and know that I have a brother who might be looking up at the same moon. Ya'know? Like in that kid's movie?"

Kate smiled at the remembrance of the mouse brother and sister singing a beautiful song about families. "I know what you mean," she whispered.

Her own desire to be connected to family was a large part of her attraction – no, why she _used_ to be attracted – to Richard Castle. Alexis and Martha drew something out of her she hadn't felt since her mother died. And even though she wasn't anything to them but a friend, sometimes, in the dark of night, she thought about what it would be like to be a part of that whole. Yes, Kate knew exactly what Aris meant.

Clearing her throat, and the emotion in the air, Kate put herself into detective mode. "Right," she said gruffly. "Do you mind if I ask you some questions?"

"Go ahead."

"Do you work for Miron Productions?" Kate knew the answer, she'd seen the woman's employment history form. She was currently a full-time foster mom, something that Kate respected very much, but she wanted to hear the woman's reasons behind not caving to nepotism.

"No, I don't. Truth be told, I walked away from that life some years ago. Oh, when I was a teenager I loved the fame and the fortune and the glitz. But it got old really fast. And I never quite fit in with that crowd. I'm not glamorous enough."

Kate opened her mouth to protest, but Aris cut her off. "Trust me, detective. I'm not. By the time I entered college, I realized I was headed for a future that would slowly eat my soul alive." She leaned in conspiratorially. "I'm not naturally gorgeous like you are, and though every woman longs to be beautiful, I just couldn't make myself buy into the notion that I'd need years of intensive plastic surgery and a lifetime diet of celery and ice water just to be 'acceptable' in my father's circles."

Nodding at the level-headed woman before her, Kate ignored the compliments paid her. She focused instead on all the information she received. "Were you close to your father at all then?"

"I suppose so. My mother left me with him when I was about 10. My father saw to all my needs. He paid for my schooling and vacations and clothes; and he even offered me a job at Miron when I got out of college, but I turned him down."

"Why?"

The expression on Aris' face changed dramatically. She fairly glowed as she continued her story. "In college I met my husband," she said with a smile. "He came from a big family – a mom and a dad and brothers and sisters and the whole she-bang. The first time I met them, I knew what I'd been missing. My father gave me everything but the one thing that family had: love. Walking away from Miron Productions and a lucrative and powerful career was easy once I realized what I really wanted. But I didn't totally abandon Gio. I continued to visit and call him to check in. After my husband set up his business, my father even sent clients his way occasionally. We took vacations with him and spent every other holiday with him. I found that once I knew love someone loved me, my capacity to love my father increased. It helped bring us a little closer together I think."

Tears brimmed in Kate's eyes, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall. Clearing her throat, she prayed her voice would come out normal.

"So what do you need from me?" she asked. "I'm still not entirely sure."

"Good point," Aris admitted. "I've been babbling haven't I? Ugh, I promised my husband I wouldn't babble at you. Anyway, I got Richard's address from Miron Productions, but I was scared to go over to his house by myself. My husband is out of the country on business and we decided that I would use the time he's gone to get over and meet _my_ family. When I confessed what a chicken I was he told me I should look you up, and that maybe you'd help me get in to meet Richard."

"Why do you think I know Castle that well?" Kate asked, a little afraid of the answer.

"Since I found out about Richard, my husband and I both read some of Richard's books and read about him on the internet...and in some tabloids, and we found out that Richard actually has some real friends here at the precinct. I felt more comfortable approaching you for help than any of his society friends. I don't run in those circles anymore, neither does my husband's family, so it's not like I can just waltz into the county club and start chatting somebody up. Besides, you can never be sure if those people are genuine or not, and they might sell him out to the press for a quick buck or thrill."

A strange feeling came over Kate. She couldn't identify it quite; it felt like a mixture of pride and concern, and also a sense of belonging or maybe possession. Which was ridiculous! Kate didn't own anything having to do with Castle, or his family. Focusing on her guest's face, she saw a look of nervous anticipation.

"So you want me to help you meet with Castle and break this news to him and Martha?" she finally found her voice to ask.

"Yes please, if you don't mind."

That unidentifiable feeling swelled again in Kate, and she knew she would help this woman, and Castle.

"I'll give him a call."


	2. Chapter 2

Rick flipped over his grilled cheese, loving the sizzle it made in his fancy All-Clad frying pan. He hummed to himself while he fixed his mid-morning snack. His mother, coming down the stairs, called an airy good morning.

"It must be, if this is the time you're crawling out of bed," Rick jibbed at his mother as she kissed his cheek.

"Well I needed my beauty sleep today, I have a very special date planned with Chet tonight, and I don't want to wilt halfway through. I've had a week of late night rehearsals and they are definitely taking their toll," Martha explained good-naturedly.

"Mother dear – you never even thought about wilting from anything."

Martha smiled and grabbed grilled cheese sandwich from her son's unsuspecting spatula. "Thank you my darling boy. You always were a mother's pride and joy."

Before Castle could protest, his phone rang. "Beckett," he murmured. "I knew you missed me." He heard his mother scoff as he picked up the call. "Detective! Couldn't stand a day off from me?"

Martha listened from her perch at the island for the usual banter between her son and his muse to start. Instead, she saw Richard's brow furrow. He acknowledged a few things the detective said then hung up.

"New case?" Martha asked.

"Nope," Rick said, staring at his phone. "KB wants to come over and talk to me about something."

"Why the long face Richard? Did she sound all right?"

"She said she would be bringing a visitor and asked if you were here."

"Gracious, I hope everything's okay. Is she coming now?"

"Yep, she was already on her way over from the precinct."

"Well, then, no more fretting until she gets over here. She might bring good news," Martha pointed out to a serious looking Castle. "The captain might have made you an honorary detective. You just never know."

Castle paced, watching the minutes tick off his clock until Beckett arrived. Finally the door bell rang and he sprang to answer it. Beckett stood on the other side, looking...different. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but she had a new air about her. It made him want to lean over and steal a kiss from her confident, saucy lips...he squashed that desire before he put the thought into action.

"Come in Beckett, let's go into the living room where my mom is." When he stepped aside and let Beckett in, Castle noticed the other woman standing out of the sight of the doorway. Kate motioned for the woman to follow her. When they walked into the living room, Martha gasped out loud.

"You all right Martha?" Kate asked.

"Yes my dear," the actress said, but everyone noticed that she didn't look Kate in the eye when she spoke, and she seemed intensely interested in the pattern on her skirt. Castle noticed that Kate's guest looked rather pained, but when he opened his mouth to say something he caught Beckett's eyes. Her look silenced him and he opted to wait until she started the conversation. Only when they were all seated did Beckett say anything.

"Castle – er, Rick, this is Aris Miron-Whitworth."

"Miron?" Castle interrupted. "As in, Miron Productions that worked on _Heat Wave_?"

Kate and her guest smiled wryly at each other. "Yes, that's the one," Aris said.

Though confused, Rick knew his manners. "It's nice to meet you Aris. I'm Richard Castle and this is my mother Martha Castle."

"It's wonderful to meet you both," Aris said sincerely. Suddenly, her smile disappeared and she looked at Beckett with panic, who quickly took over for her.

"Castle, Aris is here because...um, well, you see...Aris approached me this morning with..." Kate finally stopped and took a deep breath. It wasn't like her to stumble over words like this. She turned to Aris. "This _is_ hard," she whispered. "It's that first 'just-say-it' part that is a lot more difficult than I imagined." Aris nodded sympathetically but timidly.

"Say what Kate?" Castle asked, a hint of his own panic in his voice. Kate jumped as if startled and turned back to Rick and Martha.

"Well, Castle, what we came here to talk about is, well, not easy, and I just don't quite – "

"I believe," Martha interrupted quietly, but with strain apparent in her voice, "that Detective Beckett is here to inform you that Aris is your sister."


	3. Chapter 3

"_I believe," Martha interrupted quietly, but with strain apparent in her voice, "that Detective Beckett is here to inform you that Aris is your sister."_

...

Kate flinched at the shocked looked on Rick's face. Aris fidgeted uncomfortably and Martha looked slightly ill.

"Really? That's why you're here?" Castle finally recovered enough to ask. Kate and Aris both nodded. "You're my sister?" he cried to Aris. She nodded again. Kate watched Rick closely. Gone was his cocky assurance and swaggering arrogance. Vulnerability and confusion filled his features now. It was a little unsettling to the detective.

"You knew about her?" Castle asked his mother.

"I didn't darling," Martha replied.

"Then how –?"

"She looks like her father – a lovely version of her father," she acknowledged their guest graciously, "and incidentally, your father, Richard. I figured it out the moment I saw her."

"My father is Gio Miron?" Castle asked no one in particular.

Finally, Aris spoke up. "_Was_ Gio Miron. I'm sorry Richard, but he died a few months ago. It was his dying wish that brought me here."

The news of his father's death did nothing to impact Rick. "Oh, yes, I had heard," he said, emotionlessly. "I'm very sorry Ms. Miron."

"Actually, it's Miron-Whit-" Kate started to correct Castle, but Aris quieted her with a shake of her head.

"Thank you Richard," she said.

"You said you were here because of Miron's dying wish," Castle said. "What does that mean?"

"Yes, you're right. I am." Carefully, moving like she might shatter the tension in the air if she turned too quickly, Aris turned to Martha. "Mrs. Rogers, my father told me, a few days before he died, that his greatest regret was walking away from you after he found out you were pregnant. He said he didn't even give you a chance to tell him yourself – he heard it through the grape vine and left without any notice or anything. He said he knew he was the father of your baby but he felt that he was better than having to be saddled with a wife and child, or even just the association of family obligations. He thought himself too important and up and coming to have to face consequences – so he didn't.

"He wanted to make things right – at the end – but he was a coward. I won't deny it. And as he lay dying he asked me to do what he never would. I'm here today with his apologies for all he put you through, and this," Aris handed the older woman an envelope. "I'm asking you to just accept what's inside without hesitation."

Martha opened the envelope with tension marring her attempts. Finally she pulled out a check and gasped when she saw the zeros.

"My dear girl, I cannot accept this," Martha said, tears in her eyes.

"Please do," Aris insisted simply. "It was Gio's sincerest wish that you have this. He had his lawyers figure the amount of child support he would have paid over the years, as well as tuitions and other sundry expenses – things he should have paid for that you shouldered on your own."

"But I never asked for his help," Martha replied, pride and even anger in her tone. "I could have pitched a fit, made a scene, but I knew what the stakes were, and I also knew I would be just fine on my own! I don't need his money!"

Their visitor cried openly. She looked at Richard and Kate with anguish on her face, but they both remained quiet. This was between Martha and the memory of Gio Miron.

"I understand why you don't want the money," Aris said quietly. "And though he wrote the check to assuage his guilt, I'm asking that you keep it to help assuage mine." She stopped for a moment, choking on a sob, and then continued. "Can I tell you a story? It will help me explain why I want you to have this money." Martha nodded and Aris cleared her throat.

"When my own mother found out she was pregnant with me, I became her meal ticket. She milked Gio for everything she could. Finally, when I was 10, my father got smart. He started checking into what she was doing with all the money he gave her for my tuition, clothes and therapy bills. He found us living in a crappy apartment with my mother using the child support payments to live the high life. My tuition money went for Georgio and Jimmy Choos and Harry Winston's, and my doctor's bills were actually spa trips and botox. When he cut her off, she got angry and found herself another sugar daddy. And even though I'd never actually met my father, she dropped me off at his house while she went on a trip to Europe with her new boyfriend. Gio wasn't even in the country at the time. I stayed with his housekeeper for almost 2 weeks before he got home and found what my mom had done."

"What did he do?" Martha asked quietly.

"He tried to get a hold of her, make her come back and take me home," Aris answered. "I can remember hearing him yell at Mrs. Baker – the housekeeper – that he couldn't afford to have a kid around the house. That it hurt his image and therefore his company."

"Did he find your mom?" Richard asked.

"No," the woman carefully replied. "The police found us. My mother had been in a car accident on the Autobon. Her boyfriend was drunk and collided with another car – killing everyone in both vehicles instantly."

Everyone gasped. "I'm so sorry," Kate whispered.

"I didn't tell you this story to make you feel sorry for me," Aris said, with a wry grimace. "Truly I didn't. I tell you this story to offer a blatant comparison. I knew from a very young age that my mom didn't love me," she cut off Martha's protests, "no honestly, she didn't. I knew she _needed_ me, but there's a stark, glaring difference. When my mom got pregnant, she _used._ When you were pregnant, you _loved._ Where she was all selfishness and angles, you were pride and hard-work. Where she had no shame in using her own child to manipulate and blackmail, you loved your child enough to see that he wasn't exposed to an unloving, selfish father."

"My dear, I'm sure Gio loved you, despite what he said," Martha reassured her guest.

"You hear people say 'they loved me _in their own way_'. I wish I could say that Gio loved me in his own way, but I don't think he knew how to love. He knew how to write checks and make deals. And my mom knew how to takes those checks and wind up on the right side of his deals. My mother didn't deserve a single dime from Gio. But you? You did everything right – you loved and you cared and you worked hard. You deserve this money – it is rightfully yours. Please take it so I can know that not all my father's money went for empty things and empty people."

Martha looked long and hard – first at the check and then at the woman who'd brought it. Finally, she put an elegant hand to Aris' cheek and smiled. "Well, I can't thank Gio for this gift, but I can thank you. My dear, you are a wonderful surprise. I'm sure your mother would have been proud."

Aris smirked. "I doubt it," she whispered.

"Then," Martha smiled as tears filled her eyes, "on behalf of the rest of the mothers of the world, _I'm_ very proud of you."

The smirk left Aris' face, replaced by extreme vulnerability. "Thank you," she whispered. She seemed lost for a moment, and Martha scooted over next to Aris and folded her in a hug.

Kate's eyes misted up. She knew just what Aris was getting in that embrace. Martha had a way of giving exactly what you needed in a hug. They were never any different – she put her arms around you the same, she patted you the same with her beautiful hands, she squeezed with the same pressure – there was just some sort of magic in Martha Rogers that gave you just what you needed. Smiling, she turned to the woman's son, but Kate couldn't read the look on his face.

"You okay Castle?" she asked.

"Hmm?"

"You okay?" Kate tried again.

"Oh, yeah," he answered, never taking his eyes off of his mother and half-sister as they pulled apart and continued to talk in hushed tones.

_Right_, she thought, but didn't press him. There would be time when this was all over to make him talk honestly.

Finally, Aris looked up from where she sat with Martha. "I have one more bomb to drop, although, I think this one will be a little easier," she said. Reaching into her purse, she pulled out another envelope and gave it to Richard.

"Do you know what this is?" Richard asked, suspicion written all over his face.

"I have a fairly good idea."

"I don't need any money from him."

"Neither did your mother."

Richard sent an apologetic glance toward Martha, who dipped her head in acquiescence. "Just open it Richard," she murmured to her son.

Still the author hesitated. Kate reached over and put her hand on his knee, squeezing reassuringly. Then Castle opened the envelope and read its contents out loud.

_Dear Richard,_

_As my daughter has probably explained to you, I am your father. I offer my apologies that I did not support you and your mother while you were young. However, if I had my life to do over again, I must honestly admit that I wouldn't change anything._

_I tell you this so you will understand why I do not send Aris with a check for you. My company is my greatest love, my best accomplishment, and so, it is with great pride that I tell you that it was Miron Productions that got your book to Universal. And Miron Productions proudly broke our mold to help bring your work to the silver screen. I offered what I loved best in hopes that you will not think too unkindly of me as the years go on. _

_Sincerely,_

_Gio Miron_

_P.S. Also, I would ask that you take care of your sister. She took good care of me when I didn't deserve it. She loves having family around and I'm sure she is anxious to know you better._

Long moments stretched into the silence. Finally, Richard looked up from the missive and saw Aris – red-faced.

"He wasn't a sentimental man," she offered lamely.

"Obviously not," Richard replied not unkindly. Silence reigned again as Castle struggled to assimilate what he'd read. "So if it hadn't been for him, _Heat Wave_ wouldn't have been a movie?"

"That's not necessarily true Richard," Martha interjected.

"Your mother's right," Aris assured him. "From what I understand, everyone talked about the buzz your Nikki Heat books were making before anyone thought about turning the first one into a movie. He wanted to give you something, and he knew the moment the opportunity arose that that was what he could do for you. So, he jumped at the chance and snatched it up before anyone else could."

Castle just nodded and lapsed into thoughtful silence. Finally, Aris stood up and gathered her purse. "Well, I'd better get going," she said. "I think I've caused enough chaos for one morning." She stood awkwardly for a moment until everyone else caught her hint and came to their feet stuttering and talking over each other. Martha finally won out.

"You have not caused chaos my dear. You've offered healing. Thank you for coming and we'll be in touch very soon." She briefly hugged the woman again and guided her toward the door, asking after contact information, and leaving Castle and Beckett by themselves for a moment.

"Aren't you going to say goodbye?" Kate asked without looking at Rick. He just shrugged.

"Aren't you going to drive her home? Didn't you get her here?"

Kate gasped and darted toward the door where Martha and Aris were. "I'll get you back to the precinct Aris."

The woman smiled. "Thank you," she said sincerely. "But I actually took a cab there, so I'll just grab one from here. Is that okay?"

The detective nodded, grateful she could stay. "I'll get your financial information back to you. I'll have some uniforms drop it by your hotel."

"Sounds good. It was really nice to meet you all," this she said with a raised voice – obviously for her brother's benefit still in the living room. "Despite the circumstances, I'm glad to know you. Glad to know I've got such nice family underneath the same sky."

With a smile, Aris walked out of the apartment. The door clicked closed behind her and she felt deflated as she slowly trudged down the hallway toward the elevator. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to feel like – but truth be told, she'd envisioned meeting her half-brother and_ immediately _feeling that familial connection. Like she'd felt with her husband's family – only this was _hers_.

It hadn't been anything like that. Richard had hardly said two sentences to her during her whole visit. And Kate had gone from being a strong ally to a hovering presence. Only, she'd hovered over Richard. Aris laughed quietly as she stepped the elevator into the lobby. Kate Beckett was in love with Richard! Aris loved a good romance, and she thought her brother and the beautiful detective looked good together – natural and comfortable. She hoped that Richard loved Kate back but the thought brought a wave of depression. She probably wouldn't ever get to see if he did.

Battling a sense of the blues, Aris looked at the floor as the elevator doors shut off her view of the Castle loft.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I forgot to post this last time...so I'm doing it now. Thanks to all the alerts and adds and stuff. Also, thanks to those of you who pointed out my last name error on Martha. The minute I read it I was like: "DUH", but that's why I have you guys. ** **Also, I should warn you that I am taking lots of liberties. This isn't a character study or even something that I'm working overly hard to align exactly with the show. You could say it's almost AU-ish. But if something is confusing because I've gone too far OOC, let me know and I'll try to make some changes. Insert standard non-ownership disclaimer**

Martha slowly clicked the door closed behind their visitor. Kate stood near her, anxiously waiting for the older woman to say something.

"I'm going to go upstairs," she whispered finally. "Tell Richard I'll come down and talk to him in a while."

"Are you all right?" Kate asked.

Martha Rogers smiled, a little sadly. "Kiddo, don't you worry about me. I just need to grieve for a minute – let go of old mistakes and forgive for old slights. I suppose I need to ask my son for forgiveness too. Oh," she softly gasped, "he must be so angry with me."

Kate hesitantly put her arm around Castle's mother. "Of course not Martha!" she exclaimed. "Come talk to him, you'll see he's not. He's just...in shock." Kate sought a worthy excuse for why the normally talkative writer sat, clammed up, in the living room.

Martha sighed. "Kate, I'll be down in a little while. Tell him, will you?"

"Of course."

Kate watched as Martha walked up the stairs and disappeared behind the loft door, and then she returned to the living room where Castle still sat in silent contemplation.

"Are _you_ all right?" she asked this Castle, this time. Give her a few hours for Alexis to get home and she'd ask that Castle too, just to cover the whole family.

"Was I rude to her?" Rick asked, a serious look on his face.

"No, of course not," the answer came easily to Kate, and she felt desire to smooth the worry lines between Rick's eyebrows. Palms tingling, Kate kept her hands clasped in her lap lest Castle think she'd lost her mind.

"So, she's my sister."

"Yes, she is."

"She's not just scamming me? Did you check her out?"

"Yep, that's why she came to me first. She wanted someone you trusted to be able to vouch for her. Obviously there is no paternity test proving it, but Mr. Miron seemed to know you were his son, and your mother confirmed it."

Castle sat silently for a minute more before he jumped up from the couch and ran for the front door. He whipped back around, grabbed Kate's wrist, and dragged her with him out of the apartment and down the stairs. Bursting into the lobby, Rick and Kate saw Aris waiting with the doorman at the curb.

"Ms. Miron!" Rick shouted. "Ms. Miron!" He continued to drag Kate behind him.

Aris turned Rick's second call, and smiled at the picture of her half-brother dragging the detective behind him.

"Ms. Miron, er, Aris," Rick gasped for breath as he caught up with her. A cab pulled up at the same time and the doorman moved to open the car door for her.

"Yes Richard?"

"Call me Rick – only my mother calls me Richard," Castle said, liking the way Aris' eyes lit up at his request. She nodded and he continued. "I'm sorry I let you go without saying anything. Truth is I don't even know where to start."

"That's completely understandable."

"Would you, uh, how would you like to come for dinner this evening? You can meet my daughter, Alexis, and we can get to know each other a little better. Would that be all right?"

"I would love that Rick!" Aris exclaimed, joy shining in her eyes. "Will Kate be there too?" she added, indicating like she would like for Kate to join them.

"Of course," Castle answered.

"Oh good," Aris' smile had a glint of mischief, which she wiped away when she notice Kate looking at her. "Well, I'll see you tonight."

"6:30?"

"6:30."

Rick and Kate watched Aris climb into the waiting cab and disappear into traffic. Only then did Kate address something.

"Castle?"

"Hm?"

"You can let go of my wrist now."

Rick looked down at the grip he had on Kate. Grimacing, he released his hold and watched while Kate rubbed some life back into her fingers. "Sorry about that," he offered.

"It's okay," Kate assured him. "Hey, I need to go back to the precinct."

Castle felt panicked for a moment, but he forced it away. "All right. But you'll be here tonight?"

"Of course I will."

"And," Castle hedged, "will you come a little early? Maybe as soon as you get done this afternoon? I have a feeling the Castle clan will need some back up – there's no telling how Alexis will react to this."

"I just need to finish off some paperwork and then I'll head back your way." Kate dug her keys out of her pocket. "I'll see you in a little while Castle," she said, patting him on the shoulder.

"Kate?" Rick asked, making Beckett turn around to him again.

"I have a sister!"

Kate laughed. "Yes you do, you lucky devil."


	5. Chapter 5

Kate could hear the chaos before she even reached the door. Dishes clanged and Castle's voice floated through the hallway. Tentatively ringing the doorbell, a shouted "Come in!" surprised the detective. Turning the unlocked door handle, Beckett let herself into the apartment.

"Kate!" three chorused voices shouted as she came into view. Beckett jumped, but recovered quickly when Alexis stumbled over to wrap her in a tense hug.

"You met her, right? Is she nice?" the teen asked anxiously.

"I did," Kate answered with a laugh, "and I think you'll really like her. She was lovely and sincere and so excited to have a family."

Alexis sighed heavily. "I have a case of nerves like you wouldn't believe - "

"Daughter!" Rick interrupted her, "don't neglect your sauce!"

"Yikes, I'd better get back."

Kate followed Alexis into the kitchen where Martha and her son stirred and flipped and grated busily.

"Can I help with anything?" she asked.

"Yes my dear," Martha replied. "Grab yourself a glass of wine and come be a calming influence on Richard."

"Castle, are you nervous?" Kate teased.

"Of course I am," he snapped. "What was I thinking inviting her over? She could be crazy, or a murderer, or a psychopath, or – "

"Or she could be a really cool aunt, right?" Alexis interrupted her father. She rolled her eyes at Beckett. "_Please_ Kate, make him calm down!"

"Castle, I looked over everything she brought me, remember? She is really who she says she is."

"She could have faked those documents," the writer stubbornly pointed out.

Beckett sighed and poured herself a half-glass of wine. Seeing the lines of tension around Castle's eyes, she decided to pour him some too. "Yes, but I made one call, with her sitting right next to me, to the Connecticut Children's Services office, and they confirmed they have an Aris Miron-Whitworth on file. And their information matches everything she gave me."

"She could have a plant at the CCS."

"Richard!" Martha scolded. "Stop seeing a conspiracy where there is none."

"Yeah Dad," Alexis added in.

Beckett smiled and walked around the island. "Yeah Castle," she quipped, handing him his glass of wine. He accepted it and took a long sip.

"Thanks for ganging up on me in my time of panic," he said dryly.

"You're welcome!" Alexis offered sarcastically.

Martha motioned for her granddaughter and headed for the stairs. "Come on Alexis, let's go figure out what you should wear to meet your aunt." Alexis took her sauce off of the burner and scampered up the stairs after her grandmother.

Once they were gone, awkward silence filled the air. Richard moved from the stove with a murmured instruction for Kate to watch the concoction simmering in the frying pan. Kate nodded and watched it while Castle set the dining table, unsure of what she should say. Once upon a time, filling the quiet had never been a problem for the author and detective, but this was the first time Castle and Beckett had been alone together since before the summer; Kate had made certain of that thus far. All the events of the spring and summer seemed to stand between them. Or maybe it just seemed like that to Kate. Castle didn't act any differently...maybe.

Kate shook herself, remembering all the soul-searching and decision-making she'd done over the summer. After she broke up with Demming and before Castle announced that he was back with Gina, Kate had let her emotions get out of control. Even if it was only for a short time, Kate could still remember how her heart had pounded – it felt like it would jump right from her chest. And she had felt anxious and also like she'd been reborn, in a way. But seeing him with Gina forced Kate to remember that Castle lived in a world she did not. He was a play boy – used to a star-studded, luxury lifestyle that she would never like to live in. After remembering all those things she hated about her partner's lifestyle, it had not been hard for Kate to convince herself that telling Castle how she felt would have been a stupid move. So she spent the summer getting to know herself again and by the time he came back to work, she was ready to face him again – as a colleague and as a casual friend.

After Castle came back from the Hampton's (broken up with Gina), the bureau had welcomed him back with open and eager arms. Even Kate was excited he was back, although she tried to ignore any resemblance of such a feeling (and she turned a _completely_ blind eye to the point about his ex-wife.) She did her best to put their relationship where it had been before: flirty but productive; light but industrious.

But now...now Kate felt like she'd felt before the Hamton's, before Demming, before things got complicated. There _was_ a time when Beckett had felt _connected_ to Castle. Not romantically, per se, but like she could finally say there was someone in her life who knew her, really knew her. And when Aris had dropped her bomb in the Castle's life, it brought Kate back to that feeling...perhaps a little unwilling, but back nonetheless.

Finally, Castle finished setting the table and he moved back to the kitchen.

"KB," he scolded half-heartedly. "You're hardly watching my dish!"

Kate opened her mouth to make a smart comment, but closed it again. "I'm sorry," was what she settled with. She suddenly didn't feel like poking at the nervous writer.

"You're sorry? I saw that smarmy comeback on your lips. Come on detective, let's hear it."

She hid a smile behind a sip of her wine. "Nope, sorry, no comments from this peanut gallery."

Castle squinted his eyes at Kate. "You're hardly the peanut gallery," he said simply, a look in his eyes that Kate couldn't quite identify. She felt her heart skip a beat and before he could see her blush, she turned away.

"You'd better stir whatever's on the stove Castle," she reminded him. With a yelp, he leaped back to the stove and attended to dinner. Before he got things under control, the timer on the oven went off, followed closely by the doorbell. Alexis came bolting down the stairs.

"I'll get it!" she cried. At the bottom of the stairs, she stopped. "Just kidding, I can't, I'm too nervous," she said.

Castle, who was bending into the oven, glared at his daughter. "Alexis, go on! Don't just leave her standing there," he hissed.

"But Dad – "

"Don't 'But, Dad' me young lady, go on. Ouch!" Too busy arguing with his daughter, Castle hadn't paid attention and his arm contacted the hot oven door. Muttered profanities started to flow and Kate ran over to help him. She took the hot dish from his hands, swiping the oven mitts as she did so, and used her elbow to turn on the cold water.

"Alexis sweetie, don't panic," she said in a reassuring tone. "Just answer the door and invite her in. I promise we'll help you with the rest." The teen looked into Kate's steady eyes, nodded resolutely, and then went to answer the door.

Beckett turned to Castle and her tone was less kind. "Don't yell at your daughter, Rick, she's freaked out enough." Softening just a little she nodded toward the now cold water. "And put your arm under that until I find some burn cream." Kate finally set the dish down on a dish towel. She heard Alexis answer the door and exchange words with Aris. Before she could run upstairs for the first aid kit, Castle grabbed her arm and pulled her close.

"Castle – "

Her protest was muffled when Rick pulled her into a hug – wet arm and all. He pressed a kiss to her temple and held her close. "Thank you for being here Kate," he whispered into her hair. Too surprised to do anything but accept the contact, Kate didn't have the facilities to fight the thoughts that were bombarding her. His arms were strong and they felt really nice wrapped around her. He had one hand at the small of her back that pulled her up into him, and a niggling little voice in the back of her head thought that this was probably how Jameson Rook held Nikki Heat, but she ignored it mostly. Finally, they heard Martha descend the stairs and Alexis and Aris coming into the room so Beckett pulled away.

"Kate, why is your back all wet?" Alexis asked.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sooooo...I finally understand why people say REVIEW REVIEW! It's such a rush to see people post to your story. Reviews **_**are**_** like crack. Good times. Anyway, thanks for all those who posted. I'll keep it coming fast, since it's mostly done anyway. This chapter wasn't edited as many times as the others, my apologies for any mistakes. They're all mine and mine alone.**

**I hope Alexis wasn't too juvenile in this chapter. There were a couple of places she seemed a touch OOC...I'm going to chalk it up to – well, nothing, I have no excuse for it. Enjoy.**

"I – uh...we um – well, the water..." Kate sputtered for a moment before Martha floated in to rescue her.

"Aris, my dear we're so glad you could come!" the older woman exclaimed, effectively changing the subject. She hugged her briefly. "Now, I know she answered the door, but let me give you a proper introduction," Martha craned her head around to find her granddaughter. "Alexis, come here and meet your Aunt Aris."

Alexis crept over to her grandmother, her anxiety apparent.

"Why is she so nervous?" Beckett whispered to Castle.

"She has zero 'extended family' experience," Rick replied. "Considering that her mother and I are only children, and her other grandparent's are not very...warm, shall we say, I think she's genuinely afraid that she might not like Aris."

As they conversed silently, Martha had introduced Aris and Alexis. Rick stopped talking in time to hear Alexis' attempt at small talk.

"Hey, our names both begin and end with the same letters," she said brightly before her face crumpled in humiliation. "What a stupid thing to say, sorry," she whispered.

Aris' face lit up in a huge smile and she actually laughed out loud. "I was – no joke – thinking the _exact_ same thing! Right when your grandmother said '_Alexis, Aris_'."

The Castle teen looked hopeful but leery. "Really you were?"

"Yes, hand to the Bible I was! Isn't that uncanny? I'm going to take it as a sign that we are definitely related," Aris assured Alexis. She waited a beat before asking, "Can I give you a hug?" Alexis looked surprised, nodded a little, then practically fell into her aunt's outstretched arms.

"I was so afraid you wouldn't like me," the teen confessed, her tone betraying her nerves again.

"Alexis," Aris admonished, a quaver to her own voice, "I liked you before I met you! You are my _family_!"

Beckett turned a bemused expression to Castle, who just shrugged. "Wouldn't like her, wanted to like her...meh, who understands the female mind?"

That comment earned him a punch in the arm, which brought everyone's attention, and cleared the air of the weighty emotion.

"Hi Rick, hi Kate," Aris said timidly, "thanks for inviting me for dinner."

"You're welcome, we're glad to have you," Castle answered, and Kate had to give him credit – he sounded completely sincere.

"Richard?" Martha broke in. "Didn't I hear the oven timer go off? Are we ready to eat?"

Her question brought the group to a sense of purpose. Alexis took her aunt's jacket and purse, and Castle and Beckett put dinner on the table. After everyone sat down, Rick raised his glass of wine – already almost empty from his pre-dinner intake.

"To family," he toasted.

Dinner was a peaceful event. Aris had a knack with Alexis, drawing her out and helping her open up in new and interesting ways. Even Rick learned some things about his daughter as everyone conversed over the meal. She also kept the conversation flowing effortlessly, keeping all involved – even Kate.

Everyone learned more about Aris as well. For starters, her father put her in year round boarding school once he became her legal guardian. From the time she was 11 until she left for college, Aris lived at The Hudson River School for Girls. She spent holidays with Mrs. Baker and occasionally Gio took her on a vacation. But mostly she just went to school.

The Castle's, and Kate, were all excited to hear that Aris and her husband would be getting some kids to foster the next day. She needed to be back in Connecticut by noon the next day to pick them up – two preteen girls and an 8-year-old boy, all from the same family.

"But isn't your husband still on his business trip?" Kate asked. "How will you handle three kids on your own?"

"I wouldn't," Aris joked. "Mrs. Baker will help me."

"Your dad's housekeeper?" Alexis asked, obviously puzzled.

"Well, she's my housekeeper now," Aris explained. "Although she's more like family than help."

Castle had a funny look on his face. "Wait, wait, wait. How old is Mrs. Baker? I had this picture in my head of you showing up at Gio's house like Mary at Mistlethwaite Manor to an old, crabby housekeeper...I suppose she wasn't that?"

"Way to be stereotypical Castle," Kate teased as everyone laughed at the mental image the author conjured for them.

"You're not even close," Aris clarified with a smile. "Mrs. Baker was in her late 30's when I showed up on Gio's doorstep. She's now almost 60. She could have retired when Gio died, but her own husband had just passed away and her two sons are in the army – so she decided to keep working and keep her mind and hands occupied. I invited her to come and live with me and my ever-changing family. She's great with all the foster kids we get...doesn't take a bit of flack from any of them. She's a good example of how to run a tight ship."

"Which you'd have to do with all those children coming and going," Martha remarked.

"Yep, my husband and I joke that she should have joined her sons in the army – she would have been a general before she knew it."

Dinner wound down followed by leisurely dessert and coffee. Finally, Alexis yawned and Aris, catching the signal, looked contrite.

"I'd better get going, I've stayed way too long," she said.

"No, you haven't," Castle insisted, "I've had more fun tonight than I've had since...well, quite a while."

"I had a wonderful time too," Aris replied. She stood up and walked to Alexis, giving her niece another hug. "I would love to see you again, if you want to," she said to the teen.

"I would love that too," Alexis answered a big smile unashamedly adorning her face.

Aris squeezed Alexis a little harder for just a second more. "I'm so glad," she sighed. Turning to Kate, she hesitated only a moment before wrapping her arms around the detective also.

"Thanks for coming tonight Kate," she whispered to the surprised detective. "I couldn't have done this without you."

"You're welcome," Kate answered softly. Aris stepped back with a smile and moved to hug Martha, leaving Kate slightly embarrassed at the attention. She'd been quiet most of the dinner – trying to be a calming presence with out interfering in the family's moments. But Aris seemed to suck everyone into her – make everyone feel like they belonged unequivocally. The feeling simultaneously thrilled and frightened Beckett. She didn't want to dissect it right now – or ever – so she tried to tamp it down.

Rick, Alexis and Martha argued over who should take Aris down to the lobby. Finally, Rick won out, mostly because Martha caught Alexis' eye and they both allowed him to walk his sister to the doorman downstairs.

As Rick and Aris exited the apartment, Martha turned to Alexis to explain her actions.

"Don't worry, I get it Gram," Alexis said. "Dad needs this chance to talk to Aris – really talk to her. Say meaningful things that we don't always say around a dinner table."

Martha smiled at her granddaughter. "Exactly kiddo. You are so insanely smart."

Kate smiled too, reveling in the camaraderie and peace that filled this home this night.

Rick continued chatting with his sister as he went with her to the lobby. He expressed excitement over meeting her husband and the foster kids they'd have. She gushed about Alexis and complimented him on raising such a lovely daughter. When they got to the front doors of his building, they lapsed into silence.

"I hope you – "

"I should probably say – "

Laughing at the awkward start, Rick indicated that Aris should speak.

"I was going to say that I hope you're okay with me seeking you out," she said. "I want you to know that I debated this long and hard. And if you don't think this is a good thing for you and your family, I completely understand."

Castle cleared his throat. "_I_ was going to say that I think this is a wonderful thing fate has done. I didn't ever meet Mr. Miron, and I don't wish to speak ill of the dead, but giving you a reason to come and find me might be the best thing he ever did for both of us."

"Hand to the Bible," Aris smiled and said softly, "I've thought the exact same thing all day. Now I _know_ we're related." She leaned in and gave Rick a brief side hug then walked out to the curb to get a taxi.

"Talk to you soon Aris," Rick called after her. She turned and smiled brightly, nodding her acknowledgment.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Well, I simultaneously love and hate this chapter. It rambles quite a bit and no matter how I edit I just can't seem to get it right. That's why I hate it. I love it 'cause it has the potential to be "pot-stirring". My character suddenly had old-fashioned, yet radical ideas about love and marriage and other things. Please note: The views of the characters do not necessarily reflect the views of the writer and all that jazz. Basically, I'm asking: don't hate me for writing her that way, I thought it might be interesting, controversial even, with out being over the top. I guess I'll see if y'all do as well.**

**Also, a warning that it's a little less story and a little more...ideals. I was going to skip it, but I decided not to, just to get this conversation out of my head.**

**I don't own and etc.**

_4 days later_

"You didn't!" Alexis cried, her mouth hanging open in disbelief.

"I did!" Aris confirmed. "I erased his phone number from my phone and made sure I wouldn't be able to text him or call him or contact him. I had decided that I deserved to be chased – so I didn't want to waste my time on a guy that was too lazy to come after me."

The girls all sat around the living room, coffee mugs in hand. It was Sunday afternoon, and Rick had a meeting with his publisher, so Alexis and Martha invited over Kate and Aris and the 4 women sat around, wiling the afternoon away with a puzzle on the coffee table and plenty of tea and cookies for all. Aris regaled her niece with the story of her engagement, and though Kate was fascinated by the woman's belief in love, dating and marriage, she tried to keep silent through most of the exchange.

"Well, obviously he finally contacted you...?" Alexis prodded her aunt to continue the story.

Aris laughed gleefully. "Yes, he texted me and we went back and forth for a few minutes and I genuinely didn't know who it was – I totally had to ask! Of course Cal was confused about why I didn't know who he was – and I bluntly told him why I'd written him off. The whole thing was amazing!"

"Then he started asking you out?"

"Yep," Aris said contentedly. "All of a sudden, he came on strong. And 4 months later, we were married."

"_No way!_" Beckett gasped, not remembering to stay out of the conversation. "Four months later? That is unheard of!"

Aris laughed at her shock. "Yeah, but when you know, you know, right?"

"I guess," Kate replied doubtfully. "But _four months_? How can you know at that point?"

The conversation turned serious, and everyone watched Aris carefully. "How can you know after 1 year, or two years, or 15 or 20? Let's face it: love isn't an event, it's a process. And that's true of any kind of love – parent/child, friends, husband/wife, boyfriend/girlfriend – it's _always_ a verb, not a noun. I have this theory that love is a choice, and we have to choose every single day who we will love."

"You choose who you love?" Alexis asked skeptically.

"Yeah," Aris confirmed. "Sometimes that choice is easy – like your dad and grandma loving you, Alexis. They wake up in the morning and remember how special you are and it's easy to love you. Sometimes that choice is hard. If you were to suddenly start drinking and doing drugs and stealing things and beating people up –" Aris stopped for a moment to let the humor of such a situation overtake everyone, "anyway, if you did all those things, it might be hard for your grandma and your dad to love you, but they would still choose it everyday.

"Sometimes it's just hard because the person you are choosing to love has changed over the months or years, and you may feel you don't know them anymore, you may not want to know them or put the effort in to know them again. Loving someone you don't know is difficult. But if you've chosen to love them, your love will grow as you get to know them again."

"But what about love at first sight? Do you believe in that?" Martha challenged.

"I do," Aris confirmed. "But what I think I believe it is is someone seeing the person they choose to love for the rest of forever. That the attraction and connection is so intense that they know they won't ever have trouble making that choice."

A light came on in Alexis' eyes. "So that's why you married Uncle Cal so quickly? You just decided to choose to love him?"

"Sort of, yeah. I knew that we got along, and that we could talk for hours about everything and nothing. I knew that he was intelligent and good and kind. I knew he was loyal and generous. All these things I knew before we even started dating. And when we started dating, our relationship turned into a brilliant love affair. We were swept into the passion and excitement of it all. So even though it was fast, we figured, hey – we know marriage isn't a cake walk for anyone, so let's _decide_ to slug it out together. And we have ever since. We've loved and laughed and argued and made up and been silly and been petty and everything in between, but we've done it together. Everyday, I choose to love him, and he me, and we make that commitment. Like I said earlier, love is an action, not an event."

"That's so amazing Aunt Aris," Alexis breathed. "It's like...you knew what was coming, like you could see the future."

"I could," Aris smiled. "And so can you. I'd seen so many failed relationships since I was little that I knew that a good relationship would take hard work for it to last. That meant that I knew what my choices would need to be if I wanted to keep my relationship with my husband strong and alive."

"You can't see what your husband's choices will be though," Kate pointed out. "We can't ever know what someone else will do, right?"

"Of course not," Aris agreed. "I remind you that this is my relationship _theory_. I'm hardly pulling it off. I've made plenty of mistakes in my life – hurt and been hurt. I married Cal with one failed marriage in my belt already."

"Really?" Kate exclaimed. "You were married before?"

"Yep, I was young and in love. We'd dated for 2 years and then got married. After we'd been in a state of wedded bliss for about a month, I realized my husband had a secret life – he had a gambling addiction; I'd totally missed seeing it the whole time we were together. By two months, he'd cleaned out my bank account and hawked most of my possessions, including a wedding gift my father gave us that was worth quite a bit of money. By three months Gio wanted to press charges, but I just wanted to walk away and start fresh, y'know?"

"That's understandable, my dear," Martha sympathized. "I know exactly what you mean. Sometimes, it's better to just forgive and forget – and put yourself in a position where they can't hurt you again."

"Exactly," Aris said. "It goes back to my choices theory. Sometimes the choice to love is hard because the person you love is hurting you. Badly. I mean, no one's going to escape this life with out getting their feelings hurt at least a little. And we'll all hurt others too. But when the person who loves you is hurting you – you have to make the choice to love yourself and get away from them. Sometimes that means you have to choose not to love them...which can be hard because our choices may have become habits...and habits are hard to break."

"But isn't everyone different? Aren't you taking the romance out of it all?" Kate asked. "Or maybe even dooming us all to failed relationships?"

"Not at all, not any of that," Aris replied emphatically. "First of all, we're not all as different as we want to believe. As much as all lovers like to think that theirs is the first and only love like it in history, it's just not true. But that same fact, as depressing as it is, actually equips us with the tools to have happy, healthy relationships. I did plenty of studying on relationships at college, and I knew that, while I couldn't control the outcome of a relationship I entered, I had control of some of the variables, and that could help me get closer to a happy ending."

Kate couldn't stop herself. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Aris sighed and looked toward the ceiling, obviously trying to collect her thoughts.

"Well, I knew that a solid relationship needed to be built of two people who were free to be honest in that relationship – not that they didn't have pasts, or baggage, but that they were in a place_ at that time_ that they could be honest about. So I never dated a married man, or snuck around with a friend's boyfriend, or dated someone I knew had a drug or alcohol problem."

"That makes sense," Alexis pointed out.

Martha huffed aloud. "And yet women go after married men all the time, knowingly...I just don't understand."

"What other variables did you control?" Kate asked again.

"I knew that a healthy relationship needed a solid foundation of trust and communication. So I made the choice to not ever cheat on anyone I dated, and to not tolerate such behavior in the slightest degree in someone I dated. If a person can't be faithful to a simple promise of 'we're in a committed relationship', then I shouldn't expect fidelity in marriage. I kicked 4 boyfriends to the curb for that routine on the first violation. Two of them cried."

"You're brutal Aris," Martha said with a chuckle.

"I was!" Aris agreed, with a self-deprecating tone. Martha and Alexis laughed at Aris' dramatics, but Kate felt her heart pump even harder. She didn't look too closely at why the conversation was affecting her like it was, she just pressed Aris for more details.

"What else?" she asked, striving to keep her voice nonchalant. "Any other tricks of the trade?"

Aris smiled at Kate knowingly and thought for a moment before she continued. "I also learned that I couldn't take my previous failures as a death sentence. Just because I hadn't succeeded in keeping a relationship alive didn't mean I couldn't grow and learn from it. As long you are learning and progressing with each discontinued romance, the old adage "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again' is wise advice. And I had to remember to apply that to whoever I was with in the relationship as well. They deserved the chance to learn and grow just as I did."

"I suppose that's true," Alexis agreed. "If we all got relationships right on our first try, we'd all be married to our elementary school sweethearts and I am so glad I failed with Jeffrey Kelley!" Everyone laughed at that, and the mood lightened. Martha stood up and walked over to her son's sister.

"Aris Miron, I am delighted I get to spend time with you," she said, leaning down to give the woman a hug. "However I'm going to excuse myself. Chet is coming in a few hours and I need to go get ready."

"But you look gorgeous already," Beckett said with a smile.

Martha patted her hair and beamed at the compliment. "Yes well, I must freshen up," she said airily. "And at my age, that's no easy task."

The three younger women scoffed at her and Martha floated away on the wake of their flattery. Once she was gone, Aris collapsed against the couch.

"Oy," she groaned, "I feel like I've just talked so much, stood on my soap box a little too long. I think I should be embarrassed."

"No, not at all," Kate assured her. "You have a remarkable gift for storytelling and you've some sound advice."

"And, I need to know all about you," Alexis pointed out. "We've got a whole lifetime to catch up on."

"Your lifetime too, though," Aris said. "So maybe you need to start spilling all your stories and secrets for me and Kate." Alexis turned red and clammed up.

"Uh oh," Beckett teased, "I think we've found a gold mine of secrets...tell us what you're keeping locked inside you. It's about boys, I know it is!"

"I'm not telling my stories," Alexis giggled quietly.

Kate didn't let up. "No fair, your aunt told hers!"

"So you tell us yours!" Alexis shot back instinctively. A second later she realized what a good idea that was, and she latched on. "Yes, Kate, you tell us about your romances."

Beckett saw Aris' eyes light up. "A gal as gorgeous as you, detective, I'm sure has men lined up around the block."

Now it was Kate's turn to blush. "I really don't have much of a dating life," she hedged.

"Oh, we do not believe that!" Aris protested. "Come on _Katie_," she teased with the nickname and a sing-song voice. "Let's hear about all your boyfriends."

"I don't have any..._Rissi_" Kate jeered back, mimicking the teaasing tone and creating her own nickname for her new friend. "I'm just too busy with work. I have nothing like the fairy-tale your life is, Aris."

"Hardly!" Aris laughed. "I just have – like you said – a knack for story-telling. I'm a plain Jane who's been lucky to find a guy to love...I guess that's all a girl needs."

"I wholeheartedly agree," Kate whispered. "I'm a 'one-and-done' kind of girl myself."

"'One-and-done?" Alexis asked.

"When I get married, I want that to be the last relationship I enter into," Kate clarified. "I want to stay married for forever."

Aris smiled, but Alexis frowned. "But, remember? It doesn't always work out like that Kate," she said quietly. "I mean, look at Dad."

Beckett refrained from a snide: "Yes, my point exactly," and settled with a "What do you mean?"

Alexis sighed. "You know how my dad is, Kate," she said, a weight apparent on her shoulders. "He just doesn't know how to go half-way. So when he falls in love, he _falls in love_ and he's been burned twice now. And, though I don't remember the first time very clearly, I do remember Gina, and my dad did honestly try with her. She just couldn't seem to bend or compromise. Then, my mom – well...if how she's performed as a mother is any indication of how she was as a wife...you have your proof right there."

Aris leaned over and squeezed her niece's hand. "I'm sorry you've both been hurt like that."

"Actually," Alexis said thoughtfully, "I have this feeling that all these relationships are just preparing my dad for something – or someone – really amazing. Like, he's gotten something from every heart break that he needed in his life, and each step is leading him somewhere special."

Kate's heart almost stopped in her chest. She allowed herself – for a moment to recall the feeling she had as she walked to tell Castle she loved him...like being reborn, like coming home. Before emotion overcame her, she shifted her train of thought. "He got you from Meredith, that was something good." Beckett indicated with a smile. Alexis beamed back at her.

"And he got Gina as his publicist," the girl continued the thought. "And she's better at that job anyway. So I'm kind of glad it didn't work out with Gina. And oh boy am I glad it didn't work out this past summer!"

"What didn't work out?" Aris asked, very interested. "Did your dad try to get back together with Gina?"

"I don't know exactly what happened, 'cause I wasn't here – I was at camp. But Kate was here. Kate, tell us what happened? Dad won't talk about it and here I am, five months later, and I don't know a thing."

Detective Beckett's mouth went dry. "I uh, ummm...well, he just came to the precinct and said he was going to the Hampton's for the summer and was taking Gina back with him. It wasn't my place to ask him anything, so I didn't."

"But I thought that maybe the two of you would – "

"I guess I can understand that," Aris interrupted Alexis' protest with a little too much enthusiasm. "Sometimes inter-office drama is just too much to keep up on."

Kate nodded stiffly, not looking anyone in the eye. She didn't want to say anything else for fear of hurting Alexis' feelings, so she gratefully let Aris steer the conversation to something else entirely. Even though a part of her wanted to know just where Alexis thought her father's heart breaks were leading him, and quieter part of her wanted to be at the end of that road.

"Yep," Kate finally acknowledged her friend's rescue attempt. "You hit the nail on the head Rissi – the inter-office drama was just...weighing me down."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Although there isn't much of myself in Aris, the one thing I did use is a love for the foster care program. God bless all the foster families in this world. May those who truly have love in their hearts be guided to open their homes to the children in need. And may those who abuse the priviledge and responsibility of foster care burn in a special place in hell. Okay, that was a lil'dark – but it's how I feel. * Awkward... ***

**Thanks for all your reviews, they really made me happy. Enjoy.**

…...

Three months had passed since Aris first came into the Castle family, and Kate had seen her almost once a week. Between "Sunday" dinners, and a few shopping trips and even an evening at the spa, Beckett found herself becoming very comfortable with the familial rituals Aris seemed bent on creating – and including her in. This particular day was no different.

"Hurry up Beckett!" Castle whined at Kate, who just rolled her eyes at him. "We've fallen unacceptably behind!"

"I'm coming!" Kate picked herself up off the bench and tossed the remainder of her ice cream cone away. "I don't like that part anyway," she quipped, falling into step next to her friend.

"Did you see where they went? Monkey or reptile house?" Rick pulled on Kate's arm, hurrying her up.

"We'll find them Castle," Beckett replied patiently. "Just listen for the kids screaming for you." This seemed to reassure the author because he slowed down and grinned at her.

"You're right...they won't want to see anything with out me."

Kate scoffed at his serious comment and wondered again how she got to this place, with him. Last week – at 'Sunday' dinner – Aris asked if anyone wanted to come to the zoo with her the following Saturday. Everyone had been puzzled until she'd explained that she and her husband would get 3 new foster children who were to be with them for at least a month and that she wanted to treat the kids to something fun and frivolous. After hearing there would be children to impress – no one had any objections to an afternoon at the zoo. Eventually, Martha bowed out due to a rehearsal conflict and Kate tried to come up with a worthy excuse, but Castle wouldn't let her out of the excursion. He said he wanted this day to be the most fun for the kids and that Kate would help make that happen. It was a thin argument, but in reality, Kate didn't need much convincing.

Rick had been the most excited about the trip. He'd told everyone at the precinct about it – how he'd meet his latest nieces and nephews and buy them cotton candy and freeze dried ice cream and a stuffed hippo. The whole floor knew about Rick being a "foster uncle" and most of the detectives and officers had seen the pictures Castle now kept in his wallet of the 3 kids that stayed with Cal and Aris when he'd first met his sister.

"It's a big deal, being a foster uncle," Rick intoned to anyone who would listen. "I have an impact on a larger amount of kids." No one bothered to tell him that it was actually his sister and her husband who had the impact – no one said anything because he was just so darn excited. And really, since he was full of such happy energy, Rick probably felt like a good vitamin shot to a down-trodden kid.

Now that they were actually at the park, Kate couldn't help but be grateful for her partner's joyful spirit. She'd felt a little apprehensive over a day with small children – not that she didn't like kids, she just didn't have much experience with them. But with gleeful "Uncle Rick" running around with anyone who wanted attention, Kate didn't have to do anything but smile and laugh at the antics.

"Uncle Riiiiick!" A juvenile voice floated over the crowded walkway. Castle perked up and finally saw one of the little boys sitting on top of Cal's shoulders, waving his arms wildly. "We're going to the penguins! Hurry up!"

Castle grinned at Kate. "Did you hear? We're going to the penguins!" And he dragged her after him through the crowd.

...

"Phew!" Alexis leaned back in the taxi, resting her head on her dad's shoulder. "That was quite the afternoon!"

"Yes it was," Kate agreed, resting her head against the window.

"Are all kids that grumpy?" the teen asked, not unkindly.

"Sometimes," her dad poked her. "But I think they were just tired, and slowing down made them remember that they weren't with their dad." Toward the end of the outing, the oldest boy started acting out and being belligerent. Soft words of discipline brought on an argument where he railed against Cal, shouting that he wasn't his real dad. The two younger children were both scared at their brother's tantrum and had started to cry as well.

Aris had just smiled sadly and said, "Well, I guess that finishes this day." Putting the baby in Kate's arms, the toddler in Alexis' and taking the 5 year old with her, Aris guided the ladies back to the car, leaving Cal and Rick to follow with the stroller and toys. After giving everyone hugs and handshakes, she and her husband quietly bundled everything into their Ford Focus and with soothing words to the tired and scared children in the back seat, headed back to New Jersey.

"It's so sad," Alexis whispered, remembering how upset the little boys got.

No one answered her, for they all agreed. Finally Kate thought of something and roused herself to share it. "Think of this though, Alexis," she said. "When that little boy grows up, he won't just have sad memories of this time. He'll be able to remember running and laughing at the zoo with Uncle Rick and cousin Alexis."

"And Aunt Kate," the teen offered with a contented smile, which faded after a moment. "But what do you say to kids like that? How do you help them not miss their mom and dad? How does Aris do it?"

"She loves 'em while she has them, I guess," Kate replied.

"With all her heart," Rick added. "That way, they will have at least been in one family that loved them. _That_ they can hold on to."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Honestly, I don't write angst or romance very well. I'm not fishing for compliments or reassurances, I truly don't feel that I write those genres well at all. Perhaps it's because I don't deal with personal angst or romance on any sort of healthy, competent level in my real life, so I don't know how to translate it onto paper...I don't know, all I know is that this chapter is angsty and the next one is too...and they just don't sit well with me. Such is life.**

**Enjoy, I guess.**

October's trip to the zoo faded into Halloween and then November. Aris continued to reach out to her new family – who anxiously accepted her time and love. Her weekly Sunday dinners were a veritable family requirement, and Kate came at Aris' insistence more often than not. The detective didn't always attend when everyone went out to New Jersey for the afternoon, but she didn't miss a meal when the Whitworth's were in town.

November brought gorgeous fall weather to New York City and the start of the holiday season. Thanksgiving with the Castle's came and went joyfully – a holiday full of children and family. Alexis convinced her father to invite Aris and Cal and the 3 boys that were still with the Whitworth's (as well 3 additional foster children they had) over for dinner. They also hosted Martha and Chet (of course), one of Chet's nieces, Kate and her father, Javier, Kevin and Jenny, and Laney in the holiday feast. Chaos ensued, but everyone admitted it was fun.

The Christmas season started off quieter on the family front as Aris' oldest foster boy kept her insanely busy with his school programs and parties. Kate used her friend's busyness as an excuse to absent herself from the Castle household. Aris wasn't around to force the issue, so Rick pretty much had to accept Kate's passes on his invitations to parties and dinners and excursions. Though he never pouted or whined when she turned him down, Kate did notice he looked at her with more and more concern and confusion while at the precinct or when working on a case.

But that was just the thing for Kate. The whole situation was getting to be just too confusing. The more time she spent with Castle and his family, the harder it was to treat him like a colleague – with distance and objectivity. And the more time she spent with Aris, the more she felt like part of the Castle clan. Did Aris do it on purpose? Kate remembered the looked in her friend's eyes when Kate had first brought her to meet the Castle's. It was like Aris knew all of Kate's secret thoughts about Rick...it unsettled the detective. But at no time did Kate feel like Aris was butting into her life – forcing her and Castle together. Indeed, most of the time Aris pretended to fight with Richard over Kate's time and affections.

"_You get her during the day Rick," Aris teased when Castle started to monopolize Kate at dinner one night in one of their intense, crime solving bubbles. "Leave some Beckett for the rest of us!" _

"_Put a cork in it Rissi," Kate and Rick answered at the same time. Everyone laughed until they cried at the crime solving duo, and Kate had turned a brilliant shade of red. While Castle and Beckett had protested for different reasons, everyone seemed to think their connected consciousness was something to joke about._

Kate sighed out loud. Aris was easily one of her best friends – even Laney liked hanging out with her, and Laney was particular. Martha was always a joy to be with and being around Alexis felt wonderful; Kate loved feeling like the teen wanted her to be her friend. This was the confusion, the complexity. Feeling increasingly familiar with the women of the Castle clan just made it all the harder for Kate to keep the lone Castle male in proper perspective.

From the first day Rick came back to the precinct, Kate had worked to put things back where they were. And there were moments when Kate felt like things between her and the writer hadn't changed – like she'd never met Tom and he'd never gone to the Hampton's. But even with that familiarity, she could feel a wall...one she built deliberately...keeping a tidal wave of issues and emotions and baggage at bay.

And though their banter was the same to the common observer, Beckett couldn't help but mourn that it felt a touch off-kilter – like the tension was different. The energy between them – once sparking and vibrant – now felt angsty and perplexing.

Beckett could tell that Castle was working hard on putting their relationship back to where they were before. He still brought her coffee and pastries. He still teased her and pulled her proverbial pigtails. He still flirted with her and asked her out and followed her around and had smart remarks and ridiculous ideas. However, it all seemed masked in concern and caution and watchfulness.

She knew he had questions – about Demming and her summer and what she wanted to say to him that day before he left – but Kate couldn't figure out where to start the answers so she never did. And Castle never pressed her. It seemed easiest to just pretend that everything was all right (it _was_ all right, she was _all right_) and move ahead with out looking back.

In such confusion went most of the holiday season. If felt rather like a bleak, self-imposed punishment to Kate, but she couldn't figure out how to get out of it with out sacrificing the tenuous peace she had with the mystery writer.

As the season went on, plans began to take shape. Because Cal and Aris were going to spend Christmas day with Cal's family in Pennsylvania, they asked if they could bring by their gifts for Rick and Alexis and Martha and Kate a few days later. Aris offered to bring in some dinner for everyone and make a second Christmas of it if the Castle's – and Kate – were all right with such an arrangement. Of course everyone was, and the plans sent Rick and Alexis into a flurry of toy shopping.

Aris caught wind of her family's plans and tried to talk her brother and niece down from their shopping frenzy, but they were too excited about all the toys they were researching. A couple of weeks before Christmas, Kate received a call from Aris, desperate for her help.

"Rissi, I don't want to ruin their fun," Kate hedged when Aris asked her to supervise the Alexis and her father's shopping trips.

"Please, Kate, I'm begging you," Aris pleaded. "I've tried to be firm about it, but it felt like I was killing a puppy when I hinted to Alexis that she couldn't buy the boys those mini-Hummers to ride around in."

Kate laughed. "Oh, so you want me to kill the joy?"

"No, no," Aris hurriedly replied with a giggle. "Rick and Alexis know that if the boys get taken back to their parents and have a bunch of cool electronics or expensive toys, there is no guarantee they'll get to keep them. And if they end up at the county home or in another foster placement, someone could steal the toys or take them and sell them, or even take them away just for the fun of it. I want the boys to have toys and possessions – having something that's _theirs _is really important – but I'd rather it be something that might seem insignificant to an adult. Nintendo DS's and Ipod's aren't exactly that. Please just help them make those decisions. And by them I mostly mean Rick."

"I guess I can see what you mean," Kate said, a picture in her mind's eye of a giddy Castle standing at the electronics counter in Best Buy.

"So you'll go with them?"

"Sure."

And go with them she did. One late afternoon, after a Castle-less day at the precinct, Rick showed up at Kate's apartment right before she called for some take out.

"Castle, what are you doing here?" Kate blurted out in surprise at the writer darkening her doorstep.

"I've come to invite you to go shopping with me and Alexis and my mother," he said with a grin. "We're going for the boys, and we're going right _now_."

Kate hemmed and hawed for a moment – internally debating whether this was something she really wanted to do. While she _had_ promised Aris she'd monitor the Castle's gift giving, the sight of the handsome mystery author in his leather jacket and dark red scarf was making her heart beat in an unruly fashion and the smell of his aftershave did something to her knees...it seemed suspiciously like –

"Fine," she agreed in a huff. "I'll go with you. But you're interrupting my plans – don't you know it's polite to call a person before barging in on them?"

Castle grinned and reached for Kate's coat, hung on a hook near the front door. He helped her into it and turned her to face him, his hands on her shoulder. Standing this close to him, Kate could feel the cold coming off of him in waves. His nearness brought other memories flooding back – when he held her in his kitchen, when he helped her from her smoldering apartment, when he'd stretched out his hand to help her up from where she'd tripped over a trash can a fleeing suspect had thrown in her path. All these memories of his nearness, his gentleness, brought a flush to her cheeks. Finally, she looked up and met his gaze only to realize that Castle was staring at her with annoyance in his eyes.

"What?" she asked.

"Did you hear what I said?"

Kate blushed even harder. "No, sorry," she said, "I was thinking about something else. What did you say?"

"I said," Castle continued indignantly, "'I don't think The Wok Inn is going to be too disappointed if you don't keep your dinner date with their take out boy'."

The comment earned Rick a swat on the arm. "Very funny," Kate griped.

"Well, yah – it was funny. The first time around."

...

They went to FAO Schwartz and Toys 'R' Us and Macy's and Saks and every mom and pop toy shop they could find. Finally, at 8pm, the ladies were tired.

"Please, Dad," Alexis gasped, "let's stop. Even my shoe laces are tired."

"What is this whining?" Castle demanded. "Didn't I warn you this was going to be intense? I warned you – didn't I warn you?"

Kate laughed at the stricken looks on Martha and Alexis' faces. "Yeah, you told us it would be war Castle," she assured him. "Well, now you've got casualties and I think they need triage."

"At Che Josephine and then Elizabeth Arden," Martha confirmed.

"Che Josephine and a spa?" Castle gaped. "Geez, that's expensive triage."

"War is hell, Dad," Alexis commiserated. "Gram could wind up with...PTSD if you don't get us something good to eat and stat." Quirking her brow, she leaned in to Kate. "I think I've switched genres Kate," she whispered dramatically. "Do they say 'stat' on the battlefield?"

"As long as your dad's believing it, it doesn't matter," Kate answered mischievously.

"Ummmm, I'm standing right here," Rick pointed out obnoxiously.

Alexis slipped her arm through Kate's and sighed as they stood at the curb to wait for their car. "We know, Dad, we know."

Once they were warm and sitting comfortably in the car, everyone started to argue about what to have for dinner. No one could agree on anything. Martha wanted Italian and so did Alexis, but Rick and Kate wanted steaks and potatoes. Finally, Martha made the call.

"Richard, I love you, but you are annoying me. Here's what we're going to do," she commanded, silencing all arguments with a wave of her hands. "Alexis and I are going to drop you and Kate of at Harvy's Steakhouse. Have your steaks and your potatoes that will sit like a lump in your stomach." She cut her son off as he started to argue. "Alexis and I will take the car home and order up some take out, you can get a cab to get our dear Kate back to her apartment and then find your own way home. All right?"

Kate saw Rick's brain churn for a moment, then he seemed to realize something. He went strangely quiet, not answering his mother for a moment. "Are you okay with that?" he asked Kate quietly.

"Yeah, that's, uh, sounds...sounds fine," Beckett stuttered.

"Good. See, always listen to your mother," Martha intoned. She gave the instructions to the driver and then fell silent. In fact, the rest of the trip was quiet. Kate couldn't think of anything to say and Castle looked troubled, so she didn't press him. When they pulled up in front of Harvy's, Castle hopped out and – in a strange gesture – offered his hand to Beckett. She took it and he helped her from the car.

"Have fun Dad," Alexis called before shutting the door. "See you back at home." Then the car was gone. Castle and Beckett stood for a moment staring at each other on the curb.

"Shall we?" Castle finally asked and led Kate into the restaurant.

**End note: I do not have dinner completed. I have after dinner completed (Caskett shippers, hang on a minute longer!) I've spoiled you by posting what I had so fast, but I probably won't get to it until Friday cause I have a confession speech to write for a murder mystery so I give you fair warning. Ah...the ol' "She has to write a 'why-I-did-it' speech and can't post" excuse...it's a classic. /\/\/\/**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: This doesn't follow the season finale perfectly...I sort of twisted things to fit how I was writing. Not a lot, just a little. Oy, this was a fun chapter to write! Its super long, but I just couldn't find a good place to break it up. So good luck mucking through it all.**

The host recognized Castle and promptly sat them with a flourish. Well, a flourish for a steak house. They ordered their drinks and meals in silence, allowing the waiter, manager and host to come and fill the air between them. However, once their steaks arrived, the management and staff left them alone. Still Richard didn't say anything and Kate began to worry about agreeing to come. Perhaps he felt tricked or manipulated into being here with her...

Finally, Castle broke the silence. "You know what I realized in the car? When my mother suggested we come get a steak?"

Of everything Kate had thought he'd say, it wasn't this. Confused, she shook her head. "What?"

"I realized that we haven't gone for celebratory burgers or case-solving Chinese since I came home from the Hampton's."

Kate felt her stomach flop. _Where was he going with this?_ "I guess you're right," she answered nonchalantly. "We must have fallen out of the habit."

Rick looked hard at her. "Habit, huh?" he asked. Kate just shrugged in response, not wanting to commit more of an answer until she had a feel for where he was going with this.

It turned out he didn't go anywhere with it. In fact, he promptly changed the subject and didn't bring it up again while they were at dinner.

Conversation over the remainder of their meal was alternately easy and strained. Kate struggled to get her cadence back with the author and then she'd remember, or he'd mention something that made her remember all the heart ache and confusion. And she'd fall back into not knowing what to do or say. Then he'd try again – bring up a topic and she'd hit her stride, falling into their old rhythms and patterns. Soon, though, she'd slip up and the exchange would fall flat.

Beckett could tell it was bugging Castle. By the time the waiter came back to offer dessert, he was outwardly frustrated, which just made her more uncomfortable and awkward. She stonewalled him at every turn, and the tension at their table was palpable. She thought she detected some disgust on his face, and Kate panicked in her heart. Confused, the waiter offered to bring the check, for which Castle grumpily thanked the young man.

Just as she thought she couldn't take the stand off any more (she was contemplating bolting from the restaurant), a cheerful voice interrupted them.

"Rick? Kate?"

They looked up and saw Aris walking toward them, a grin on her face.

Castle stood to greet his sister. "What are you doing here?" he asked, hugging her tightly.

"Cal brought all his employees and their spouses out for a Christmas work party. You said you loved this place, and we thought we'd come in and try it! What a happy coincidence," Aris gushed. "What have you been up to tonight?"

"We were out toy shopping for the boys," Kate offered.

Aris smiled her gratitude. "Oh, you are the best. They are so excited for their two Christmases. It's helping keep the spirit of good will in the house, especially with all the drama surrounding their father."

"We're excited too," Rick said, a little stilted. Aris looked back and forth between her brother and her friend for a moment.

"Is everything all right?" she asked, genuine concern in her voice.

"Yes," Rick and Kate answered simultaneously.

"Why wouldn't it be?" Kate covered.

"It's just...you know, never mind," Aris said dismissively. "I should get back to Cal. I won't see either of you until our second Christmas, so let me wish you both a happy holiday!" She hugged Rick tightly. "Give Alexis and Martha my love!"

"I will," Castle promised.

Aris walked over and hugged Kate and wished her a Merry Christmas as well. Waving briefly, she walked away.

The waiter came back with the check and Rick pulled out his wallet in silence.

"Actually, you know what?"

The pair looked up in surprise to find an agitated Aris back standing at their table. "I do have something else to say," she said, twisting her fingers around each other. "You know that I love you both right?" Castle and Beckett nodded, puzzled. "More than I thought possible," she continued. "So I am going to give you some advice. It is unsolicited and pertaining to something that is completely not my business...but in the spirit of loving you like I do, I'm giving it anyway."

"Aris -" Kate tried to stop her friend, afraid of what she would say.

But Aris would have none of Beckett's interruptions. "Nope, sorry Kate – I've kept my mouth shut for far too long. I do this because I love you both." Leaning forward, Aris took Rick and Kate's hands in her own, squeezing them gently.

"Rick," she whispered with a grin, looking into her brother's face, "no more patience."

Turning to Kate, she held her gaze steady. "Kate – my darling friend – _be_ _brave. _Braver than you've ever had to be. I promise, it will be worth it._"_

She slipped her hand from Kate's, choosing to not look into the detective's shocked eyes. But Castle held tight a moment longer. "Rissi," he said, emotion thickening his voice, "I love you too."

Aris smiled joyfully and nodded before walking away again. Castle finished with the check and the waiter in silence, giving Kate a moment to comprehend what had just happened. But her brain wouldn't work right – she just kept seeing, in her mind's eye, the look on Castle's face before Aris interrupted them the first time. It was like he was about to give up – give her up, give it all up. Now his jaw was set resolutely and Beckett could tell he'd made a decision of some kind.

Abruptly, he stood, clattering the dishes on the table. "She's right, you know," he said, looking sternly down at her. "I'm done pretending nothing's wrong."

Kate's brain still wasn't processing everything that was happening. She stared stupidly up at him, not sure exactly what he was talking about. Rick pulled on his coat, grabbed up Beckett's jacket and pulled her out of her chair.

This got Kate's attention. "Castle," she hissed as he practically dragged her through the restaurant. "What the hell is the matter with you?" He stopped to help her slip into her jacket – which she jerked away stubbornly – before he towed her out of the building.

"I'll tell you what the matter is," Castle said once they got outside. "We need to talk about real things. That's what's the matter. If we can't talk at the zoo, or at Sunday dinners, or in a booth in a restaurant, then we are going to walk around this city, in the cold, until the words get said!"

"What words, Castle?" Beckett asked numbly.

"The real words, the words that need to be said!"

Shocked, Kate couldn't reply. This bizarre ambiguity wasn't something she normally saw in her partner; the whole situation was very unsettling. Pulling her scarf around her neck a little tighter, she reluctantly fell into step beside him.

"I'll start," Rick said quietly, "because I'm a little embarrassed about my outburst." Kate didn't acknowledge his half-apology, so he continued. "In the restaurant you said we didn't go out to dinner because we'd fallen out of the habit, right?"

"Yeah," Kate agreed.

"Alexis says that Aris thinks that habits are the consequences of what we choose to do, over and over – our choices become our habits."

Kate vividly recalled that conversation. "I know, it seems fairly logical, I guess."

"I agree," Castle said. "And having burgers with you was certainly a habit for me. I chose that over and over and over – I still do," he pointed out. Kate realized that that was true. He'd invited her to lunch and dinner several times while working on cases, or after successfully closing them. Even though she'd not gone with him – used every excuse in the book – he'd never stopped asking. Kate didn't want to think about what that meant. She stuffed the thoughts away.

"Well, maybe not 'habit' then," she clarified. "Maybe just we don't want to do that anymore."

"You mean _you _don't want to do that any more? But that's still a choice though, right? I mean, you would rather choose not to spend time with me after we've closed a case?" Castle responded, the hurt apparent in his voice.

Beckett immediately felt contrite. "I didn't mean it like that Castle," she defended herself. "I just meant...that – well, before the summer we were...we were – "

"We were what? What were we?" Rick demanded.

"Friends," Kate answered defensively. "Like we are now."

"I disagree. I don't think we are friends anymore," Rick replied matter-of-factly, walking around a lamp post. "I think we've gone wrong somewhere – maybe I have – and since the summer we've played a stupid game of keeping up appearances; but there's nothing beneath the surface. Not anymore."

Kate felt her stomach twist. She wasn't ready for this discussion with him. "I don't know what you're talking about Castle."

"Yes you do – you're the one who's made it this way."

"Excuse me?" That accusation smarted, but rang true. Kate knew she'd built the walls that kept him out. And in the past when he got through to her, she would allow the breach, he came in so slowly there were moments she didn't recognize how he'd gotten to her. But this time, before the summer, when her defenses fell like Jericho's, she learned the punishment for tearing down the walls around her heart was the constant sting of betrayal. And so she built the walls again – thicker – and she doubled the guard. And she made sure that he couldn't even attempt to knock on the drawing bridge door.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that entirely," Castle hastily apologized. "But I can't help but feel like we're playing this game and I'm losing horribly – only you won't tell me the rules so I can win."

Kate bristled at his frankness. "There is no game Castle!" she practically shouted at him. They had walked unconsciously toward her apartment, and now they were only a few blocks away. If she could stall him long enough, she could get home and shut him out with a real door made of wood. One that wouldn't crumble like the doors to her heart could.

Breaking through the clouds of panic, Aris' advice rang in her ears. _Be brave_. Kate sighed in frustration. She didn't have that kind of strength.

"Yes there is!" Rick insisted. "Ever since I came home things went back to normal except where you were concerned. Everyone treats you different – especially when I'm around. Tell me what I did wrong or tell me what happened so that I can fix what's between us."

"Nothing happened, you arrogant jerk!" Kate snapped at him. "Why do you assume that everything about me revolves around you?'

"Because!" Rick shouted back. "Everything about_ me_ revolves around _you_!"

That statement rang into the still, cold night.

"That's obviously not true," Kate whispered bitterly, after a moment to recover herself from such a startling revelation.

"You can't know that KB," Rick replied. "You can't possible see the choices I make in here," he firmly tapped his chest.

Beckett chuckled derisively. She knew she was hurting him, but couldn't gather the energy to care. "I can see the fruits of those choices though, and they speak loudly." She changed the subject, not wanting to continue down this slippery path. "That doesn't matter anyway," she pointed out cynically, "because no one is treating me differently. There is no game, and there is nothing – NOTHING – between us, so you can drop that notion real quick!"

Now they were just half a block from her apartment. Kate started to stride toward her building.

"Before you run away," Castle said, grabbing her by the arm. "Please will you just answer one question?"

"I'm done talking about this," Kate complained. She ripped her arm from his hold and he put his hands up in mock surrender.

"Please, Kate," he begged in a whisper, "just one."

Beckett glared at him long and hard, Aris' words echoing through her head, they wouldn't leave her be. "Fine," she said. That was as brave as she was going to get.

Rick took a deep, steadying breath. "What were you going to tell me that day I left for the summer?"

Her heart stopped beating for a moment, and then came back in double time. "Nothing," she answered hoarsely, attempting a disinterested shrug. "I don't even remember."

"I don't believe that," Castle informed her, grabbing her by the shoulders.

"That's too bad," Kate shot back, lifting her chin haughtily. She could feel his breath on her face and neck and it made her knees rubbery. Viciously, she tamped down a desire to fall into his arms and let go of the flood of emotion inside her. She wouldn't let that happen, not when she was so close to being safely locked away in her apartment.

"Why won't you be honest with me?" he asked, shaking her just a little before turning on the sarcasm. "Just satisfy my rabid curiosity here."

His cynicism struck a chord in Beckett. Suddenly, her knees became her own, her heart turned to ice and her raging emotions cooled to a scary calm. Suddenly, she wanted to tell Castle everything – she wanted him to know how he'd ruined everything. She wanted him to know that he may have hurt her once, but he wouldn't ever get that chance again. With steely resolve, she moved out from under his hands.

"All right Castle, I'll answer your question," Kate said, her voice thin and controlled. "The morning of your 'goodbye' party, I had a little talk with Laney and she seemed to think my 'heart wanted what my heart wanted' and I should just stop trying to fight it." She could see how still Rick had gone – he hung on her every word. Not even when Kate had a suspect dead to rights in interrogation had she had such a captive audience. It was thrilling, empowering. "So I called Demming and asked to speak with him right then. He came up from robbery and I told him he just wasn't what I needed right now."

"You broke up with him?" Castle asked, obviously distressed by her confession.

"Yes," Beckett replied calmly. "I did. And while I felt bad hurting him, I still know it was the right thing to do. He wasn't – isn't what I need."

"Is that what you came to tell me? That you'd broken up with Demming?"

"Bingo." Kate said, taking perverse pleasure in spilling this news. She'd already mourned and reconciled it – it was Castle's turn to bear the pain of lost chances. "And I was all set to tell you that I'd fallen for you and that I wanted to come to the Hampton's with you...but it just didn't work out did it?"

Castle opened his mouth to reply, but no sounds came out. He just stared in shock at her.

Kate felt bitterness rise up in her at the sight of his speechlessness. "Actually, I take that back. It worked out just how it was supposed to," she sniped into the silence. "I was a fool to think that you would ever want me. Let's face it," she laughed harshly, "I won't ever be someone who will live in the fast lane with you. I don't want the fame and the scrutiny and the press and the tabloids and the scandal. I wouldn't fit with you – in your world. I know that now and it's _just_ fine with me."

With a toss of her head, Kate turned on her heel to run to her apartment. Just before she reached the door, she heard Rick call to her. She stopped in her tracks, ashamed that hearing him speak her name still had such power over her. Rick quickly crossed the space between them, pulling on Beckett's arm to turn her to him again.

"I don't want it either," Castle said, breathing heavily.

"What?"

"The fame and the tabloids and the press – I don't want it either."

Kate huffed out a breath. "Oh stop it Castle, yes you do! You love the attention and the glamour and the red carpets! _I know you do_."

"I didn't say I didn't love it," he answered patiently, never taking his eyes from hers.

"Then what? What are you saying?"

"I'm saying I don't want it if you don't want it. I don't want any of it, if it means I can't have you."

All the air left Beckett's lungs. The world tilted wildly for a moment before she was able to get oxygen to her brain again. Suddenly, everything was _just too much_.

She'd held in her tears when Castle left her for Gina, veritably crushing her hard won confidence. She didn't cry when she thought the loneliness would wreck her all summer long. Kate hadn't given herself over to histrionics when Castle came home and their relationship wasn't as cut and dry, as clinical, as she wanted it to be. But now...now Kate felt tears press against the backs of her eyes. "What...why – why are you saying this?" she hissed through clenched teeth.

"Because it's the truth Kate," Rick answered. "I don't know how you've managed to stay obtuse to it for so long – but I am crazy about you. I have been since the day we met. I've tried to be patient and prove to you that I'm worth taking a chance on; I've waited months and months for you to see. And I would have waited longer."

"But Gina?" Kate asked. It was all she could get out with out relinquishing her delicate control on the storm of emotions inside of her.

"I was hurting, KB," he said simply. "I can't tell you how painful it was to watch you with Demming every day; seeing him on the receiving end of the looks and the smiles that I so desperately wanted from you. You let him get you coffee and kiss you and who knows what else..." he trailed off, shaking away the unpleasant memories. "When you turned me down for the Hampton's because of him, I figured it was time I moved on and leave you to your happiness." Wryly, he finished the thought. "I admit I moved on rather hastily...okay, I moved on like I was running toward my own death," he allowed when he saw Kate's eyebrow raise just a little.

This elicited a tiny smile from her which Castle took in stride. He closed the gap between them, hesitantly raising a hand to her cheek. His fingers were cold, but Kate didn't flinch from it. A hot tear slipped down her cheek, catching on his thumb. He wiped away the wet trail it left. "Kate, don't cry," he whispered, pain in his voice. Another tear slipped from her eye and rested at the top of her cheek. Cautiously, Castle leaned in and pressed his lips to it.

Beckett gasped shakily, her hands grabbing his jacket lapels to keep her knees from giving out.

"I can't do this," she whispered. "It's not...I just don't..." she trailed off, her eyes closed tightly. Tucked close to Rick as she was, he could feel that she trembled from head to toe.

"Kate," he whispered in her ear, "if you don't want me, fine. I will leave you alone. But if you're just scared of taking this leap – oh please don't be. Be brave – with me. I can't promise it'll be perfect, but I promise we'll try to make it that way."

With her eyes still tightly closed and her hands still holding his jacket in a death grip, Castle ran a finger over Kate's lips, causing her to shiver. Steadily, carefully, he lowered his face, pressing his lips gently to hers. Kate let her mind go blank – free of everything except what it felt like to kiss Richard Castle – the taste of his lips and tongue and the feel of his cold jacket against her hands. Her hands relaxed and when she started to back away, he ended the kiss. But still Kate didn't open her eyes.

She didn't move for fear that all her doubts and insecurities would come crashing down, drowning her. In his arms, frozen in this moment, Kate couldn't think of a single reason not to love this man for forever.

"Say something KB," Castle finally whispered pressing his lips to her forehead.

Slowly Beckett opened her eyes, but stayed with her brow against his mouth. "I _am_ scared," she whispered.

"What?" Castle rejoined huskily with a hint of humor in his voice, moving so he could look into her face. "My KB? Scared? I would never have believed that." Caressing her cheek with the back of his fingers, he smiled. "Detective Beckett, I am _so_ in love with you it's a little scary to me too."

"What if we fail?" Kate asked – unable to stop the question.

"Do you want to?"

"No, I don't want to fail with you." Kate confessed.

"You don't?" Rick prodded. "Why not?"

Becket dropped her head against Castle's neck, burrowing down into his warmth. She knew what he wanted from her, but his want didn't erase her fear. She had to do that on her own. She remembered the awkward moment when she'd tried to tell Castle that Aris was his sister. When the words wouldn't come, Martha had said them for her. But no one could say these words for her. She needed to _just say it!_ Kate let herself stay hidden for a moment, pressed close to Rick while she sorted out her thoughts and screwed her courage to a sticking place. Finally she pushed away from him and took a big breath. Looking Castle squarely in the eye, she spoke, a tiny sob choking her efforts.

"I don't want to fail with you because I love you so much it hurts," she cried, tears coming afresh. Once the words were out a great weight lifted off of her shoulders; she gasped out loud at the release and found herself caught up in Rick's embrace. "Oh God, Rick, I do love you!" she whispered fiercely. Castle kissed her soundly, passionately, and for a moment everything ceased to exist but Castle and Beckett, in love on the stoop of her apartment building.

They came up for air after a few minutes. "I can't tell you how good it feels to say that to you, finally!" Kate said, laughing in her relief.

"I can't tell you how good it felt you hear that from you, finally," Rick replied dryly. Kate laughed at him and held on to the writer like a life line. They were quiet for a few minutes, reveling in the feeling of holding each other – running gentle hands and fingers along shoulders and necks and faces – touching and being touched so carefully.

Finally, after pressing a gentle kiss to Rick's mouth, Kate confessed. "I'm still a little scared."

Rick smiled at her, smoothing a hand over her hair. "That's okay," he whispered. "As long as you always let me know when you're feeling that way and don't just bolt like...like something that bolts when it gets startled, we'll be all right."

Beckett raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, but was that just you not coming up with a good metaphor? _You_?"

Castle chuckled and ran his hands along Kate's back, effectively pulling her close. "I think I drank a little too much at dinner," he confessed, brushing his lips across her ear. "My brain's not working."

"You had a Coke at Harvy's," Kate reminded him as she shivered at his attentions.

"Good point," Castle conceded, standing back up again. "So, I guess I'm drunk on...on Aris' good advice – and the outcome of following said wisdom," he waggled is eyebrows. "She's one smart cookie, my sister."

Beckett laughed, grateful beyond what she could convey to feel this light and free. "Rissi's said a thing or two I might agree with," she joked good-naturedly before dropping her voice low. "I'm so glad she came looking for you."

"Me too." Castle's eyes lit up suddenly. "Hey, I know how to put your fears to rest Kate," he said. "How about you put Aris' theory to the test?" Reaching up, Rick cupped Kate's face in his hands. "Kate," he said with all seriousness, "Anytime you feel scared or unsure about me or us – or anything, just ask me. Ask me who I love. You'll see that I will to choose to love you for forever. I'll choose you every day."

**End Note: ~Crickets in the silence of my brain~ So? What did you think?**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I thought about throwing a random Demming meeting in...but I'll admit, I'm drama'd out. So no more drama. I'll just put a fluffy package on this story. Maybe one or two more chapters. This one might be too syrupy sweet for me. The more edits I do, the more I'm like: "Yuck". But when I wrote it I was feelin' it all fluffy and stuff, so I'm including it tonight.**

**Thanks for the reviews – your comments and encouragement make me feel like one million dollars! MW**

After prying themselves apart well after midnight, Kate sent a very chilly Castle home to his family. She floated surreally down the hallway and let herself into her apartment in a daze. She shut and locked the door before a huge grin cracked her face in half.

"What in the holy name of..." she cried to the ceiling. "Did that just really happen?"

She feared as she curled up in her bed that sleep would be evasive. But with a sigh and a smile, she fell into a healing, peaceful slumber.

Kate woke in the morning with the same smile. She flew through her morning rituals: disappointed to wash away the feeling of Castle's breath on her neck or his lips on hers, but also unable to get out the door fast enough. She panicked for a moment when she realized that in all the good-byes from the previous night, she didn't know if Castle was coming to the precinct today. She thought about calling him, but decided against it. She still wasn't sure where they stood – she needed a couple more nights like the last one to help her solidify things.

Shamelessly, Kate sped through the streets to the precinct, blowing by traffic uniforms with gutsy abandon. She had to force herself to park like a normal person and she had to consciously stop herself from sprinting up from the parking garage.

"He'll be there, he'll be there," she chanted to herself to keep her feet walking in a slow and steady rhythm.

Now that she was finally into the building, she wasn't sure she could wait much longer. Jumping gratefully into an empty lift, Kate hit her floor button.

"Hold the elevator!" someone cried and a familiar hand slide in between the closing doors to stop it. Ryan and Esposito popped into the elevator, looking surprised to see their boss.

"Hey Beckett," Kevin Ryan greet her.

"Good morning guys," Kate acknowledged them both as evenly as she could manage.

Javier quirked a brow. "Good morning to you," he said suspiciously. He glanced over at Ryan and they did their silent communication thing Beckett hated so much.

"What?" she asked, slightly exasperated. "What's up?"

"We might ask you the same thing," Esposito quipped.

"Huh?"

"Yeah, what's going on Beckett?" Ryan asked.

Kate squinted at the two detectives. "Why do you ask?"

"Because, you look..." Ryan searched for the right word.

"Happy," Esposito supplied.

"Yeah. Happy. Or maybe joyful."

"Yeeeah, joyful."

Kate laughed. "For heavens sake, I'm always happy."

"Nope, you're not," Javier contradicted her.

"He's right boss," Kevin affirmed.

"Excuse me? I would say I'm a fairly contented person," she argued.

"Sure, but not joyful. I mean, you should see yourself," Javier said. "Your cheeks are flushed..."

"You have a stupid grin on your face too," Kevin pointed out.

The elevator dinged their floor. "I do not have a stupid grin on my face,"and Kate said, turning away from her detectives as the door slid open. "And I'm only flushed because...because...um..."

Kate lost her train of thought when she glanced up at the sight before her. Rick stood outside the elevator, a few yards down the hall. He held two coffee cups in his hands, and he bounced impatiently on the balls of his feet. Relief poured through her soul at the sight of him, gently washing away the morning's disquiet.

Ryan and Esposito followed Kate's gaze. A mix of emotions went comically across their faces : confusion, comprehension, disbelief and then finally, joy.

"Shut up," Kevin breathed.

"Finally," Javier agreed.

The ding of the closing doors caught Castle's attention, and momentarily distracted the three detectives, who quickly exited the elevator. When they looked up, Castle was standing in front of them, happiness on his face – his previous fidgeting replaced by eager calm.

"Good morning Beckett," he greeted softly, handing Kate the coffee in his right hand.

"Good morning Castle," she replied with a smile, not breaking his gaze.

"Good morning Castle," Ryan and Esposito greeted cheekily in chorus from Beckett's left.

With out looking away from Kate, Rick reached out and fist-bumped each detective. "Esposito, Ryan."

The two detectives stood staring for a moment at Castle and Beckett staring at each other. Finally, they walked away, clapping Castle on the shoulder as they passed.

"Oh, Castle you sly dog," Ryan muttered in passing. This comment broke Beckett's concentration, and she gasped at his audacity.

"I heard that Kevin!" she shouted after him. Rick grinned, but let the exchange pass. For a moment, they were left alone, excited energy pulsing between them.

"It was real, right?" Castle finally asked.

Kate laughed. "That's my question remember?" When Rick looked confused, she clarified. "Who do you love today Castle?"

Understanding brightened his face. He glanced nonchalantly around to make sure no one was peeping and pressed a chaste kiss on the detective's lips.

"You," he said against her mouth. "Everyday, you."

With their eyes tightly closed and their senses focused totally on each other, neither noticed the elevator doors slide open.

"Good Lord, it took you two long enough," someone said from behind Kate. The couple jumped apart in surprise as Laney burst in on them.

"I'm glad to see you're progressing though," she said as she breezed past them in to the bull pen – headed toward Capt. Montgomery's office. "Honestly, I wasn't sure how much more 'gloomy Kate' and 'conflicted Rick' we could stomach around here."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: I'm afraid I didn't wrap up enough on the whole 'budding Castkett relationship' front. I tried to write more, but realized that I was just opening a whole other can o' worms...so I left them as brand new as possible. The world is their oyster still in this fan fic. Warnings for this chapter: I ruin the secret of Christmas in this chapter. If you still believe in Santa Claus, don't read on. Oh, wait, I kinda just ruined it right there too. Also I honestly didn't anticipate this story ending at Christmas but that's how it worked out. So those of you who object to such mentionings before Thanksgiving (i.e.: my mother) please just insert: "4th of July" every time you see the "C-word" and "fireworks" anytime I say "snow". Well, anywho, here's the fluffy bow to my story of family and romance.**

**Standard non-ownership disclaimer. Just using the characters to give myself carpal tunnel. Enjoy.**

Epilogue

Christmas Eve settled in cool, crisp darkness in Pepperville, Pennsylvania. Aris walked quietly down the block of her in-law's neighborhood, stealing a few quiet moments after a hectic but wonderful day. The kids were _finally _in bed and she'd begged a chance to walk alone down the street and back before she needed to come and help Cal play Santa. She thought about the past 6 months, and how her life had changed. A father lost, a brother gained. Really though, she realized, she got more than just Rick. She had Alexis, Martha and Chet, and Kate and 11 new foster kids come into her family as well, each blessing her life in extraordinary ways.

Thinking about Kate made Aris a little homesick for her friend. She'd left so abruptly at the restaurant – leaving everything in turmoil. She prayed silently that everything had worked out that night, or that it would work out in the near future. Rick and Kate were so in love – someone just needed to point the stinkin' way!

After seeing her brother and friend at the restaurant, Aris had dropped a call to Alexis, hoping the girl would know something. She laughed as she recalled the frantic conversation.

"_This is total gossip," Aris pointed out, "and I'm just going to clarify that I know gossiping is wrong. Even though I love it."_

"_Ooooh, gossip!" Alexis squealed. "Lemme go get Gram!"_

_A few minutes later, Alexis and Martha came on the speaker phone._

"_Alexis tells me you have gossip," Martha hinted. "And since our mutual acquaintance is so limited...I'm guessing this is about a certain author and a certain detective?"_

_Aris gasped. "What? How did you now? Did he say something?"_

"_Silly girl! How do you think they got out to dinner together? By themselves?" Martha scoffed._

"_Oh, Martha Rogers, you are goo-ood!" Aris cried triumphantly. She spent the next several minutes recounting what she saw and heard and said to the two ladies on the other end of the call. "But I just don't know what happened next, and I'm dying! Did your dad say anything when he came home Alexis?"_

"_No!" the teen pouted. "But he got home really late – like after midnight. And he looked...different."_

"_How different?" Aris probed. "Like, resigned or relieved or sad or over joyed?"_

"_I don't know, he woke me up to send me to my room, so I was kinda groggy," Alexis replied. "But I remember thinking: Something's different."_

"_Martha?"_

"_Sorry kiddo, Richard hasn't said a word to me. Although he might just be really busy this week. He's been having to be at the precinct so much lately. I guess there's a difficult case to work on. That's probably it ladies, no use borrowing drama before it's hatched."_

"_You're right," Aris and Alexis replied dejectedly._

Now, with a few days perspective on the situation, Aris didn't feel so glum about it all. She realized she couldn't force Rick and Kate into her timeline. Their love would move at it's own (agonizingly slow, painfully tedious) pace. And the only thing _she_ had to do was love them both. Not a hard job at all.

As she returned up the street toward her in-law's home, her cell phone rang – crashing through the peaceful stillness. The caller id showed a picture of Alexis, smiling at one of the kids the Whitworth's had at the time the picture was taken. She picked up the phone.

"Hi Alexis," she greeted cheerfully.

"Shhhh!" came the hissed command. "I can't talk very loud."

Concern filled Aris. "Are you all right sweetie?"

"Yes, I'm perfect!" Alexis squealed before shushing herself and giggling.

"What's going on, why are we whispering?"

"Just give me a moment," the teen instructed. Her aunt heard some shuffling and grunting before a familiar _snap_ indicated that a picture had been taken. By the time she'd grunted and shuffled and come back on the line, Aris was back at the house. She took a seat on the porch swing, turning on the space heater in the partially enclosed patio.

"First of all, Aunt Aris, Merry Christmas!" Alexis said, still whispering. "And second of all, I've just sent you a picture. I won't say another word until you've seen it."

Luckily, the picture came right through, and Aris was able to open it up. She gasped when the image finally came into focus.

"No!" she cried. "Really?"

"It's no photo editing job," Alexis giggled. "That is the real deal! I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself."

The picture from Alexis showed Rick and Kate wrapped in a passionate embrace – in the middle of a very steamy kiss.

"Wait, Alexis – how did you get this? Are you spying on your dad?"

"No, I came by it honestly," the teen defended herself. "I was doing some very last minute shopping for Gram – actually it was for Chet from me and Dad – and I decided to climb the stairs instead of taking the elevator at our building because I thought: 'hey, I'm gonna be eating a lot tomorrow, might as well burn some calories tonight."

"And, and?"

"And I come into the hallway and wham-o! Kate and my dad – making out in my front door."

"Oh. My. Gosh." Aris said, shocked.

"I know, right?" Alexis replied. "But Aunt Aris, do you know what this means? They did it! They finally chose to love each other!"

Aris laughed, starting to feel a little choked up. "You're right!" she replied. "I'm so glad they did. It's been a long 6 months for me having to watch them dance around each other. I can't imagine what it's been like for you and your grandmother." Suddenly, Aris realized something. "Alexis – are your father and Kate still making out in the doorway?"

Some shuffling and grunting later, Aris heard a chirped "yep" through the line.

"Then where are you?"

"In the stairwell, behind some ficases. Or is that fici?"

"You're hiding out from them?" Aris asked with a giggle.

"Ew, Aris," Alexis cringed. "I like Kate. I mean, I really do. She is so kick-ass and amazing and fun to be around and nice. And I'm excited that she and Dad have finally hooked up...but I do not want to know, or see, any of that hanky-panky stuff that has the potential to go on. No thank you!"

Aris laughed. "Well, how about I keep you company until the coast is clear?"

The girls talked for about 20 minutes about Christmases past and dreams for the future before Alexis got startled by her dad poking his head into the stairwell.

"There you are," Castle chided. "Kate's gone, you missed her."

"That was the purpose," Alexis muttered. "The coast is clear now," she told Aris.

"Who're you talking to?" Castle asked.

"Aunt Aris."

"Can I talk to her for a sec?"

"Aris, I'm passing the phone to Dad," Alexis said, handing the phone to Rick with out waiting for a reply.

"Hey Rissi," Castle said joyfully. "Merry Christmas to you and yours."

"Merry Christmas to you."

"Listen," he hedged, "I wanted to thank you for what you did for me the other night."

"What do you mean?" Aris tried to play vague.

"Right, like you don't know," her brother dead-panned.

"Okay, fine," she confessed in a rush. "You're welcome."

Castle scratched at his 9 o'clock shadow, and glared at Alexis in mock anger. "Well, as I'm sure you've been told – seeing as how my daughter has been spying on us – I've just come from the arms of one Detective Kate Beckett. And I'm so insanely happy about said circumstances I just about can't stand it."

"Rick I'm so happy for you!" Aris cried. "I knew it would work out just perfectly."

"Well, that's what I wanted to thank you for," Rick said. "We might have gotten to this place on our own, but I have a feeling it would have been a much longer, more painful road. Instead, fate brings you into our lives, you work some magic and I've got my Detective Beckett."

Castle could hear Aris smiling through tears over the phone. "I did no such thing. You did this yourself. You deserve to be happy Rick," she said. "I'm so glad you are."

"Well," Castle cleared his throat, shoving down a lump of tears as he did so. "I'm gonna drag my daughter back into our home, so we can quit hanging out like weirdos behind the ficuses - "

"Fici," Alexis amended in a loud whisper.

Rick rolled his eyes. "Right, anyway..."

"Merry Christmas Aunt Aris! Tell Uncle Cal and the boys I love 'em!" Alexis shouted into her phone. "And I love you too!"

"Happy Christmas Alexis," Aris replied, laughing. "You are my favorite niece, by far. And I love you too. So much! We'll see you all in a couple of days."

"We can't wait," Rick replied. "Talk to you soon, love you."

"Love you too, good night."

….

Aris trudged up the stairs to where her husband waited for her to return from her walk. Her cell phone beeped – indicating a text message. She flipped it open and read it, blinking back happy tears.

_Aris,_

_Kate and Alexis told me about your choices theory. I'm glad I get a choice. I'll definitely choose to have you always my sister, always my friend._

_Love,_

_Your big brother – RC_


End file.
